Review of the documentary ‘The Disciple. A Wu-Tang Clan Fable now available on Netflix

It was a matter of time before a large platform, in this case Netflix, told the story of “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin”the controversial studio album by Wu-Tang Clan sold for two million dollars to controversial pharmaceutical businessman Martin Shkreli and later confiscated and resold by the feds. And history has it all.

You already know that for many Wu-Tang Clan is the best group in the history of hip hop, with nine members (at least until the death of Ol’ Dirty Bastard) and that draws from sources as different as kung-fu movies, Spectrum sounds and the most bittersweet soul and funk, all led by the eclectic RZA.

“The Disciple. A Wu-Tang Clan Fable” It narrates, in a strictly chronological manner, how a Dutch fan of Moroccan origin (nicknamed Cilvaringz) went from chasing the New York band halfway around the world to becoming RZA’s right-hand man, being his backup singer on one of his tours and, later, producing an album whose only copy would be sold for two million dollars to a kind of comic book villain from the tangible world.

Of course, the controversy is how Cilvaringz convinced most of the group’s members to record verses over his beats and, later (and in theory without the knowledge of the band members), auction it as an unreleased album and become a millionaire with it. All under the consent of RZA and his brother Mitchell “Divine” Diggs, owners of the Wu-Tang trademark and, therefore, the only ones who could accept the operation.

During its one hundred and five minutes of duration and between color and black and white, the documentary is divided into two distinct parts: the story of improvement of the Dutch boy who dreams of working with his idols and the production, marketing strategy and subsequent sale of the studio album, almost twenty years later.

Directed by Joanna Natasegara, the documentary (although merely functional in direction and editing) is developed in a basic way based on an absolutely unpredictable story and archival images of the clan, especially those of RZA on tour around the world, mostly unpublished.

And, while we have first-person statements from Cilvaringz himself, RZA or Cappadonnathe opinion of members of the clan as relevant as Ghostface Killah, Method Man either Raekwonwhose thoughts on the matter are collected in television interviews from the past. This absence tells us two things: the subjectivity of the story, produced by those who collected the money from the sale, and the discomfort of the majority of the members of the Staten Island gang.

“The Disciple. A Wu-Tang Fable” It’s kind of a decent snapshot of how dreams can come true, and also a partisan narrative of how money can make you betray your own idols. An enjoyable documentary for lovers and completists of Shaolin music around the globe and, most likely, dispensable for the rest.