Songcatcher (2000)

Songcatcher Will Put A Song In Your Heart

My wife and I rented Songcatcher not knowing what to expect, but the basic story sounded interesting. Well, we loved it so much we bought the DVD. It's a good story, well told...and the only nit I will pick happens late in the movie--when an ongoing lesbian relationship is discovered (a "local" sees the women kissing passionately). The relationship had already been strongly hinted-at, so the "discovery" seemed gratuitous. And I have read criticism of the story's opening sequence--and the event that sets the table for the whole film: A female college professor being denied tenure, and resigning, to visit her sister who runs a school in the Appalachian mountains. It is argued that a female would never have been considered for tenure in the early part of the 20th century. But rather than debate that, I will only remind of the concept of "willing suspension of disbelief"...an aesthetic theory coined by the poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1817.
Songcatcher is a rewarding, lyrical and heartwarming time spent in the world of cinema. July 7, 2008

Songcatcher

Songcatcher is both an interesting drama and a showcase for some excellent singing. One of the songs is about a man who has no land of his own and thus cannot court a wife; he imaginatively describes his longing in the song. Viewers with open minds are recommended to this film. June 3, 2008

pure enjoyment

story of a music professor in search of original mountain music in the Appalachian Mountains. Old songs sung and played as they were either written or passed down. Music played on fiddle, banjo's & Mountain dulcimer (the only musical instrument originating in the United States). Great entertainment for the lover of old time music. May 3, 2008

Little known film

I got this movie from netflix, and was very happy I did. I was somewhat surprised by the PG-13 rating, because of the lesbian sub-plot, but the movie was incredible. I find it interesting that the only two-star ratings I noticed were because of this part of the storyline. I sometimes think that these homophobes only bother to rate movies with this type of storyline just to further their own homophobic agenda. So sad. Though I am straight, I see no problem with women loving women or men loving men. I didn't read all the reviews, but I wonder if any of them had anything derogatory to say about the man who was cheating on his wife with another women. I bet they'd have had plenty to say if he'd been cheating with another man. April 22, 2008

Catching Songs in the Appalachians

"Songcatcher" is the "O Sister" equivalent to the Coen brothers' "O Brother,where art thou?" Janet McTeer stars as Lily Penleric,a music professor denied full professorship due to being a woman. Fleeing the misogyny of academia,Lily joins her sister Elna (Jane Adams) There,she becomes one with Nature, meeting the generally noble natives.

In the Appalachians, there's plenty of drama. Lily discovers-to her horror- that her younger sister is romancing an older woman,Harriet (who bears an amazing resemblance to Jean Marsh in her nurse role in "Return to Oz") Lily meets the musicians (among them Iris DeMent and Taj Mahal) She also meets the alcoholic veteran Tom Bledsoe (Aidan Quinn) At first,he's very gruff with her. Suddenly,they are enamored of each other&they're making love in the wilderness. On top of that,there's a graphic childbirth scene,as well as a love triangle. The natives are restless.

"Songcatcher" has a strong soundtrack with Emmylou Harris,Gillian Welch, Patty Loveless, Rosanne Cash and Dolly Parton. The plot is melodramatic and stereotypical--but at least it's fun. There's music in them thar hills! March 23, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...