Tribeca 2026: “Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial VS That’s the Weight of the World)”

Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial VS That’s the Weight of the World) (Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, 2026) 3½ out of 5 stars

The Roots drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, also a documentarian, just premiered his latest film, Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial VS That’s the Weight of the World), at the 2026 Tribeca Festival. As was the case with his otherwise-strong feature debut, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), the movie may be a little overlong yet still delivers plenty of fascinating information wrapped in a mostly engaging format. Given the subject matter—the musical band Earth, Wind  & Fire, which was huge in scope as well as size—it is perhaps appropriate that the documentary occupy so much space. The group deserves it. Still, a little editing never hurt anyone.

The director quickly introduces us to band founder Maurice White, born in 1941, at the peak of Earth, Wind & fire’s popularity, then jumps to his birth in 1941 and back and forth from there. There are plenty of commentators on hand to share their feelings about the music, among them Flea, H.E.R., the Obamas, Lionel Ritchie, and Stevie Wonder. It’s great to hear their thoughts on the vital role the ensemble played in their formations as people and artists.

Before moving to California as the 1970s dawned, White first hit it big as a drummer with the popular Ramsey Lewis Trio, playing jazz to large crowds. Upon his arrival on the West Coast, he became fascinated with transcendental meditation and health food, and his subsequent philosophical musings on the metaphysics of being human are replicated on screen, in overlays, at various intervals. So, too, are visualizations of his interest in space travel. He would take these ideas and apply them forward in his new enterprise, named after the elements in his astrological chart.

Over the first half of the decade, the group’s membership would change as White tinkered with the sound. He first encouraged jazz-like improvisation (some of the early sets we see here resemble the rambling efforts of the Grateful Dead, even if musically quite different) but then began to chase more popular recognition, with a goal to transcend R&B charts and hit the mainstream (otherwise known as getting white people to listen, too). This meant firing early collaborators, some of whom are in the movie to spill the tea.

As are his siblings, longtime romantic partner, children, and later colleagues, including brother (and bassist) Verdine White, fellow singer Philip Bailey, and fellow percussionist Ralph Johnson, the three of whom were at the screening and performed a set with Questlove on drums, joined by the rest of The Roots (Maurice White died in 2016). The narrative is rich in complexity, refusing to be any kind of hagiography. Making art is a challenge, especially when money is involved, and when egos clash, there can be bad blood,

Still, the ultimate takeaway here is of joy, as Barack Obama puts it. Earth, Wind & Fire’s music gets its due, and we learn the history of what happened when and why. Amazingly, it is not until the end that Questlove finally plays the band’s most famous tune, “September.” It’s as if he knows that’s what we’ve been waiting for and is determined to hold off as long as possible. It’s a lengthy journey, but in the main a worthy one. And what a tune.

Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Chris Reed is the editor of Film Festival Today. A member of both the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, Chris is, in addition, lead film critic at Hammer to Nail and the author of Film Editing: Theory and Practice.