Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings

Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro's life changed after a clip of the artist performing a cover of George Harrison's “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in Central Park became one of the first YouTube videos to go viral in 2006. Filmmaker Tadashi Nakamura's profile tells Shimabukuro's story, from the time his mother began teaching him to play the ukulele at the age of four in his Hawaiian home, to the challenges of spending so much time performing on the road away from his wife and new baby. Although the four-stringed ukulele is an honored instrument in Hawaiian culture, mainland Americans tend to consider it more of a gimmick—its main claim to fame being Tiny Tim's “Tiptoe Through the Tulips.” While he initially gained attention in 1994 for his blazing finger-speed on the uke as part of the band Pure Heart, Shimabukuro went on to win worldwide acclaim for his extraordinary range—equally adept at playing Beethoven's “Für Elise” and Queen's “Bohemian Rhapsody,” as well as his own acclaimed original compositions, such as “Dragon.” Nakamura follows Shimabukuro as he visits his childhood home, enjoys a barbecue with his family, and travels with manager Kazusa Flanagan to her hometown of Sendai—which was devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami—where he plays before elementary-aged kids in a shelter and seniors at a rest home. A charming portrait of an extremely talented, charming, and disarmingly modest musician (I had the wonderful opportunity to see Shimabukuro perform and he truly is all of these), this engaging documentary is recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)