Songcatcher (2000)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Maggie Greenwald

Writer (WGA):

Maggie Greenwald (written by)

Release Date:

1 March 2001 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Plot:

After being denied a promotion at the university where she teaches, Doctor Lily Penleric, a brilliant musicologist...

Plot Keywords:

Mountain | Song | University | Ballad | Musician

Awards:

5 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Janet McTeer	...	Professor Lily Penleric, PhD
Michael Davis	...	Dean Arthur Pembroke
Michael Goodwin	...	Professor Wallace Aldrich, PhD
Greg Russell Cook	...	Fate Honeycutt
Jane Adams	...	Eleanor 'Elna' Penleric
E. Katherine Kerr	...	Harriet Tolliver
Emmy Rossum	...	Deladis Slocumb
Pat Carroll	...	Viney Butler
Stephanie Roth Haberle	...	Alice Kincaid
Aidan Quinn	...	Tom Bledsoe
Bart Hansard	...	Hilliard
Erin Blake Clanton	...	Polly
David Patrick Kelly	...	Earl Giddens
Kristin Hall	...	Isabel
Michael Harding	...	Reese Kincaid

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and an intense scene of childbirth.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | New Zealand:M | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37448)

Filming Locations:

Asheville, North Carolina, USA

Company:

ErgoArts

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Kudzu is shown growing in the forest. Kudzu was introduced into Appalachia in the 1930s from Japan to slow erosion. Kudzu would not have been present during the period this movie covers.

Quotes:

Lily Penleric: Are you drunk?
Tom Bledsoe: I'm not drunk, I'm... celebrating.

Soundtrack:

Conversation with Death

Music is life...........

Songcatcher is a fantastic film about understanding culture and people throughout the beauty of music and the poetry of songs. Every beat and word represents something that in many ways is so personally related to people's lives, history and emotions.

This is the lovely story of Dr. Lily Penleric (Janet McTeer) a preeminent teacher musician who impulsively decides to run to visit her sister at a struggling rural school in the Appalachia, right after being denied of an anticipated promotion where she teaches. Over there (in the mountains) she founds a new meaning to her life by finding love and discovering very culturally important Scott-Irish ballads that she might use to save her promotion.

The whole cast performances are awesome, especially Janet McTeer who comes back with another tremendous performance and Aidan Quinn who hasn't been this good so far.

Writer/director Maggie Greenwald gives us a very fresh and tender story that describes so well all characters, situations with the very real and touching concept of music.

Finally, but not the least, David Mansfield music is fantastic. He amazingly takes excellent care of every musical detail related to the lives of these beautiful characters.

Robinson Almanzar.