As a huge fan of Graceland, I was curious about Under African Skies, a documentary about the 1986 album's making. Still, there's always that worry that it'll just be a bland puff piece, especially considering that the film is being packaged with a new deluxe edition of the album. But, no, Under African Skies does a solid job examining the controversy as well as celebrating its greatness. My review is up at The Village Voice. And if you want to read the definitive critical essay on the aforementioned controversy, I highly, highly recommend Robert Christgau's piece, "South African Romance," that was published about a month after the album's release. A very nice balance of musical analysis and political commentary.
