On Tuesday night, husband & I set off to the Mall of Africa to see the world premiere of Bohemian Rhapsody. Everyone has heard of Queen, & I’m sure has rocked out to their many anthems. Hearing their music evokes so many happy memories, & is constantly the music played at events to get people out of their seats. For this reason I was super excited to see the movie & learn more about the men behind this music.
We arrived at the theatre full of excitement & looking forward to a night out – we don’t often get to experience events like this & it was the perfect excuse to celebrate out sixth wedding anniversary in style. We snacked on delicious bowls of food – including curry, pasta dishes & pulled pork; followed by fruit skewers & chocolate mousse.
We were ushered into the theatre (cell phones were all handed in at this point to ensure there was no leaking of the film or sneaky-sneaky filming from their seats). The live premiere was streamed from the UK is fits & bursts – do you remember that ad that stated “Mother Buffer”? Well, that’s exactly what the whole audience was thinking! Unfortunately we missed majority of the interviews & seeing the guests of honour arriving. It did give us all an opportunity to get started on our popcorn & cooldrink but it was disappointing not being able to watch this live…
From the moment the actual movie started with a guitar riff of the well-known 20th Century Fox welcome screen, we were all enthralled. The movie allows us a glimpse into the real life of Freddie Mercury (aka Farrokh Bulsara) – played by Rami Malek, as well as the extreme rise to fame of this group of young men despite constantly being told NO by record producers & the like.
Freddie constantly defied odds & stereotypes, & embraced his individuality. He hails from Zanzibar, but embraced his “Britishness”. The movie touches on his AIDS diagnosis, but also shows the overwhelming support shown to him from his bandmates despite the huge unknown of this disease at the time.
I wanted to sing along to all the songs, & thoroughly enjoyed finding out about the inspiration for their music – from opera, to wanting to get the crowd involved & so on. I could see the smiles on the faces of the entire audience throughout the film, & there are not often movies that are released that appeal to such a wide variety of fans.
I would definitely recommend this film to EVERYONE! We now have Queen on repeat throughout the house & in our cars, & I find myself singing the songs under my breath whilst working. Queen have gone down as having some of the greatest hits in rock music history, & have cemented a legacy that will continue to inspire & encourage all of us that are “different” or fit into a different box to the norm.
Watch the official trailer here
