Like "The Commitments" and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", "Songcatcher" focuses on music in a way that you shouldn't miss. It tells the story of musicologist Lily Penleric (Janet McTeer) who travels to an isolated village in the Appalachians and gets to hear the music of the Scottish-Irish people there in the early 20th century. Can this really be the whole plot of a movie? When the movie has such great music, it definitely can. Because what Lily hears does many things: aside from just being great music, it shows how the people in this village may not be educated or anything like that - and could even be inbred - but they still have their culture. I definitely recommend this movie.
Also starring Aidan Quinn (happy birthday, Aidan!) and Emmy Rossum a few years before she played Sean Penn's daughter in "Mystic River".
Also starring Aidan Quinn (happy birthday, Aidan!) and Emmy Rossum a few years before she played Sean Penn's daughter in "Mystic River".