[3 and 1/2 stars]
I never quite felt that this film lived up to it's potential. It could be due to a tight schedule, but it seems that whenever they started to get into a truly collaborative effort, they went off to the next location before fully exploring their discoveries. Although not quite satisfied, I came away from watching this film feeling it was a worthwhile experience.
I agree with others who commented that Bela never quite seemed to "fit in" with the others. Music is much more than simply playing the correct notes with the right rhythm. The only time I felt a true artistic event happening was during the "Songbird" piece near the end -- great music; I'll be looking for it on CD!
This might have made for a fine documentary series -- with an entire episode devoted to a single piece of music, with more details on the indigenous instruments; how they're made, their cultural roles, etc. End each episode with an entire uninterrupted performance. But ... enough about what could have been ...
A "Must see" for those of us interested in musical exploration. However, don't expect anything especially new to arise from it. If you're not very familiar with African traditional music, this would be a good introduction.