Though this decade has produced an almighty glut of music documentaries, few have concentrated on the rich and ongoing history of Jamaica’s contributions to our planet of sound. French documentarian Jérôme Laperousaz fills the gap with Made in Jamaica, a doc that’s further distinguished by its formal elegance and its thematic ambition.

Eschewing a facts-first chronology charting the shifts from ska to reggae to dancehall (those interested in the straight-up approach are better off with Lloyd Bradley’s 2001 book Bass Culture), Laperousaz instead highlights the many contradictions and oppositional forces that exist within the music and the long-troubled society it reflects. Thus are the songs and insights of conscious reggae acts such as Capleton and Third World closely juxtaposed with the lewder likes of Elephant Man and the irrepressible Lady Saw.

Though provocative, Made in Jamaica’s emphasis on the various dialectics at work (e.g., Rasta religiosity vs. bling-flashing hedonism) creates an oversimplified reading of the country’s particular brand of chaos. The busy, freewheeling editing scheme also gives short shrift to some of the performance footage, which is otherwise remarkable for its Steadicam-enhanced fluidity and deft use of long takes. Even so, the consistently stellar appearances by everyone from Bunny Wailer to Bounty Killer give Laperousaz’s movie the same restless and sometimes reckless vitality that has always energized Jamaican music.