Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:05] Speaker B: Welcome to five Minute Film Finder, brought to you by Pioneer Library System.
[00:00:13] Speaker A: Hello, and welcome back to another episode of five Minute Film Finder, the podcast brought to you by Pioneer Library System.
This is the podcast where we take five minutes to tell you about a movie that's available on either Hoopla or Kanopy. I'm Jamie.
[00:00:30] Speaker C: I'm Amanda.
[00:00:31] Speaker A: So today we kind of have a little bit of another theme going.
We both chose movies that are period pieces, basically, and we both chose movies kind of like a music theme, both by prolific filmmakers. They're popular, award winning directors, writers.
You've got a film by the Coen Brothers. I've got one by Cameron Crowe.
Is this your favorite Coen brothers movie?
[00:01:02] Speaker C: I think it probably is. It's the one I've seen the most.
[00:01:05] Speaker A: For sure.
[00:01:06] Speaker C: I've seen it, gosh, I don't know how many times, and each time it's just a wonderful, misery filled blanket wrapping around me. I love it so much.
[00:01:15] Speaker A: That is a great description. Yeah, that's like the tagline you need for the poster.
Yeah. I realized I. I don't know that I've seen that many cone. I was looking at their filmography. I've seen Raising Arizona. Big Lebowski. Yeah, this. Which I only watched for the first time a few weeks ago when you. When you recommended it.
Let's see. I think a Brother.
[00:01:40] Speaker C: Where Art Thou?
[00:01:41] Speaker A: Oh, yes, that one. Okay. I used to love that movie. I. My parents really liked it. So for a while, I would think maybe that might be my favorite one of theirs.
[00:01:49] Speaker C: Fargo. Have you seen Fargo?
[00:01:50] Speaker A: I have seen Fargo, but I think maybe Raised in Arizona might be my favorite. But there's the Big Lebowski's also. Really? I used to watch that a lot when I was in college.
Yeah, that's a tough. But I think those might be the only ones I've seen.
[00:02:06] Speaker C: True Grit. I think you've probably seen it.
[00:02:08] Speaker A: I have no idea.
[00:02:08] Speaker C: And that one is like the Coen brothers movie that I forget the Coen brothers have made because it seems so mainstream.
Yeah. But it's really good.
[00:02:15] Speaker A: Okay. I need. I have not. I have not seen it.
[00:02:17] Speaker C: Oh, it's great. Has Jeff Bridges. Yeah, it's really, really good.
[00:02:21] Speaker A: Western.
[00:02:21] Speaker C: It is a western. Yeah. It's based.
[00:02:23] Speaker A: Well, there was original western John Wayne.
[00:02:24] Speaker C: With John Wayne.
[00:02:25] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay.
[00:02:26] Speaker C: But no, it's really good.
Hailee Steinfeld. I think she's really good in it.
[00:02:29] Speaker A: I just. I never watched it.
I know there's a lot I haven't seen.
[00:02:34] Speaker C: That's okay. But, yeah, they have a great, like, big filmography if you ever wanted to, like, do a deep dive into Coen Brothers stuff. So, like, Blood Simple, I think, is one of their first films. It's a noir film. It had Franc McDormand in it.
[00:02:46] Speaker A: Yeah, it's really good.
[00:02:48] Speaker C: And it's definitely, like, an early film. And I think they were. They grew up in, I think, the same area, went to college with the same guy that did the Evil Dead movies, which I can't.
[00:02:57] Speaker A: Sam Raimi. Yes.
[00:02:58] Speaker C: I was blocking on it. I was blanking on his name. But, yeah, he, I think, helped with Blood simple some. And so they've.
Yeah, so they have, like, deep roots in, like, early, you know, kind of independent type films. And then they've gone, like, fully mainstream with stuff like oh, Brother, Where Art Thou? And True Grit.
[00:03:13] Speaker A: Right.
[00:03:13] Speaker C: And I can't remember what the movie is that I can see the Martin Fink.
It's another one that has John Goodman in it. John Goodman has been in several of his films.
[00:03:22] Speaker A: I noticed it seems like they use a lot of the same actors, John.
[00:03:25] Speaker C: Goodman, and there's a lot of, like.
I don't know what you call it, just kind of, like, quirky characters in their films. And. Yeah, I enjoy that quite a bit. And there's always like, some really interesting language that they use. Like, you know, in Fargo, they're just like, you know, they've got, like, that dialect of whatever, you know, Fargo, the North Dakota dialect down, and the type of vocabulary that they use a lot. So I just. You feel like you're just, like, immersed in a world when you're watching their films. And sometimes it's kind of surreal, like, oh, Brother or Art Thou or. This one has some surreal elements, I think.
[00:03:56] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:57] Speaker C: But, yeah, it's always.
Sometimes they are the kind of films that reward, like, second, third, fourth watches. Because this movie, the first time I watched it, I was so stressed about the cat.
[00:04:07] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:04:07] Speaker C: Like, this cat has got to survive this movie.
[00:04:09] Speaker A: Right.
[00:04:10] Speaker C: And it does just, you know, spoiler alert. Yeah.
But, yeah, it's. And it's. He's not a likable guy. And so, yeah, a lot of their characters aren't, like, the best people.
[00:04:21] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:22] Speaker C: And they go through, like, some tough times, but, yeah, they're always really entertaining. And there's always just more like, okay. I hated that movie Hail Siege at the first time I watched it.
[00:04:30] Speaker A: Oh, it has George Clooney. Yeah, I know. It's so many stars and Chain Tatum in that. I can't remember.
[00:04:36] Speaker C: Yes. Chant plays like a sailor. That's an accent guy that plays like. He plays an actor like in the 40s. Right. 30s, 40s, who does like a sailor type, Gene Kelly type role where he does a lot of dancing and stuff like that. So, yeah, he's in that. And that movie is hilarious. The more I watch it, my mom and I quote, what? But it's worse. So simple all the time to each other.
[00:04:58] Speaker A: Well, my friends and I used to quote Big Lebowski a lot and oh, brother, where art thou?
Yeah, I need to watch more of their stuff.
So my choice is also pretty prolific film, like Cameron Crowe. So he.
I've read. I've seen. I have seen quite a few of his movies. Say Anything was probably my favorite. Just I saw it as a young girl.
You know, John Cusack was like, you know, epitome of like, cool. Yeah. Male, like, romantic lead singles. I watched that. I think I've only seen that once and I remember liking it, but I need to rewatch that. I have not seen Vanilla Sky.
[00:05:44] Speaker C: Oh, man, that's a wild ride.
[00:05:46] Speaker A: I've not seen Elizabethtown, even though I think some of it was filmed in Oklahoma.
[00:05:49] Speaker C: Yes. I've never seen it either. And I just heard so many people make fun of it. And so I'm like, well, I can mark that off. Listen, I don't even know why I said over it.
[00:05:56] Speaker A: I have, of course, I've seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which. Did you know that he wrote a book? He went undercover at a high school and he wrote a book about his experiences, which. And I actually got the book long time ago through interlibrary loan. But the first time I requested it, they actually sent me the movie first. And then so I had to redo it. And this was not with Pioneer. It was with another library system.
[00:06:17] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:06:19] Speaker A: I did finally get. Get the book. And I read it. It was. It was just so interesting to read that after seeing the movie. But it was. I. I, of course, enjoy that, and.
[00:06:29] Speaker C: I think that would be a read for sure.
[00:06:31] Speaker A: I feel like the fact that he has gone through. And my choice today is also like a sort of a semi autobiographical movie. So I feel like it kind of lends some authenticity to his stuff. But. Okay, I guess we can get into it. Do you want to talk about yours first?
[00:06:47] Speaker C: Oh, sure. I can go first.
[00:06:48] Speaker A: All right, well, we. I will set a timer because we've got. Or Wilhelm, our good friend, will keep us on track. So we've got five minutes to go. All right, Wilhelm, start your timer.
[00:07:02] Speaker C: Okay. I'm talking about Inside Llewyn Davis, which was directed by the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan.
And like we talked about before, they have so many movies they've done together. They have now split apart creatively and are making films separately. It's a sad time.
I'm really hoping they're gonna get back together, you know, and start making films together again.
But, you know, it's probably really hard to stay creatively fresh, you know, with the same creative partners forever.
But we do have these gems that they made, so. Did I say it's from 2013? It's from 2013, Jamie.
[00:07:36] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:07:38] Speaker C: And it did get nominated for two Academy Awards. Didn't win anything, though. It got best cinematography and best sound mixing, and probably cinematography is like, maybe the one gripe I have with the film because it's so kind of, like.
It's very dreary. Yeah. Cloudy and dreamy. And, like, there's some kind of, like, you know, not quite focused things. And everything is brown. There's so much brown.
And so sometimes I'm like, are my glasses cleaned?
[00:08:05] Speaker A: But I feel like it kind of fit, though, with that character.
[00:08:08] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. It's like the time period and, yeah, with the. Like I said, the surreal kind of elements of the film, it does feel kind of dreamy.
And the music supervisor is T Bone Burnett. And this is something I never noted on any film before. You know, I never note, like, oh, who's a music supervisor? You know? But Tebow Burnett has kind of become like, a brand now.
He worked with the Coen Brothers on A Brother Where Art Thou. And I also have a list of other things. So he won Grammys for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, television or Other Visual media for A Brother Where Art Thou, Cold Mountain, Walk the Line, and Crazy Heart. Crazy Heart. I remember specifically, I think I was really into that movie. Well, I know I was into the movie. I think I watched the special features that had a little vignette with him and Jeff Bridges playing and talking about, you know, the mood for the film. And I think he wrote, like, the original song for it.
[00:09:00] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:09:01] Speaker C: So when I have no objectivity about this movie, I just love it so much. I've watched it so many times. And it opens up in Greenwich Village, 1961, and it's about, like, the folk sing there. So, like, the IMDb summary is a week in the life of a young singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk singing of 1961. And that is just.
Does not give you the whole thing. For one thing, I don't think he's young. I think he's probably about to age out of what he's doing. You know, he's in his maybe early 30s.
And it's Oscar Isaac. Yeah. Oh, yes. I didn't even say Oscar Isaac is in it. John Goodman plays this really wacky jazz guy who's hooked on heroin, who is part of this, like road trip to Chicago that is just brutal that he's stuck in.
And so he goes through like this. This film is kind of cyclical in the way it starts and it ends.
And when I first watched it, like I said, I was so worried about the cat. But once I started rewatching it over and over, I just got.
I just learned new things every time I watch it.
The music is so great. And if you've ever gotten into folk music or, you know, my mom was super into Bob Dylan when I was a kid and so.
And if you've seen A Complete Unknown. When I went and saw A Complete Unknown, you know, with Timothy Chalamet. Have you seen that one yet?
[00:10:21] Speaker A: Not yet.
[00:10:21] Speaker C: So it's a biopic about the early career of Bob Dylan. And when I saw that, you know, where he succeeds. You know, we all know the story of Bob Dylan. He, you know, is a huge part of popular culture now. And he did manage to find success and fame.
This is the opposite.
Llewyn Davis does not succeed and does not have fame. Not, you know, big spoiler, but it's just like the opposite of him. And the whole music really does. The thing that kind of tripped me up when I was watching it the first time is I couldn't tell what music is like we're supposed to really enjoy as, oh, this is a great song, or what we're supposed to think is crap. Because Lewin has bad opinions about a lot. He sings a novelty song that he hates, but that turns out, you know, might have some, you know, he maybe doesn't make a great decision when it comes business wise when it comes to that.
And he heckles that lady that is playing with her auto harp, who's from the mountains or something.
He's so mean to that lady. And when she's playing, oh, and it's set in the Gaslight, which is like a real Greenwich Village coffee house at the time that Bob Dylan does play at. And so that kind of mix of like real, real places and real songs and then songs written for the film and maybe parodies of songs that I found really enjoyable and so, like, there's a song called the Old Triangle that I thought was a parody of a folk song.
But I was talking to one of our computer techs, Morgan, and he's like, no, that's like a traditional song. But it has. The way they're filming it with the four folk singers, the four guys up there in their, like, Irish cabinets.
[00:12:02] Speaker A: Oh, there's Wilhelm.
[00:12:03] Speaker C: Oh, darn. Okay, I'll wrap up my thought here.
And they're singing about, like, being in prison. RAT squealing. I'm like, this is surely a parody of a folk song. But no, it's a real song. So that we're seeing it from Lewin's point of view, where he kind of has disdain for anyone who's not him. He doesn't like. You know, he is the total opposite of Bob Dylan, because Bob Dylan is cool. You know, Lewin cannot be cool about music, and he's really struggling day to day.
And it's just. I find the journey really interesting. And a lot. The more I watch it, like I said, the more I get from it. The songs, a lot of them talk about farewell or goodbyes or long journeys. Like the opening song with.
What's that lady's name that's in it?
[00:12:47] Speaker A: Carey Mulligan.
[00:12:48] Speaker C: Yes, Carey Mulligan and the guy that used to sing Sexy Back Song. Justin Timberlake.
[00:12:53] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:12:53] Speaker C: They are a couple in the film.
And you get kind of like Peter, Paul and Mary vibes when they pull up another guy to sing with. You know, another guy sings with them. And you can kind of see the. You know, the music business is trying to figure out, like, how to make money from folk music. So they're pairing up people, you know, he. The movie starts out where they established that he had a partner that he was singing with at first, and he's still recovering from his. The loss of that guy.
Not just loss of a creative partner, but loss of. The guy has jumped off a bridge and killed himself. And so he's dealing with the grief from that.
And I read a review on Letterboxd that said it's a film adaptation of depression, which is basically what he's going through.
And if you see his journey, his arc is small. It's kind of like a gopher hill. It's been mowed over. It's maybe a little bit. He doesn't really.
His life doesn't change too much by the end, but he does learn. He is learning a few things, and I just find it really. Oh, the whole point. I was gonna say, yeah, I know. I'm wrapping this up. Sorry.
[00:13:57] Speaker A: 10 Minute Film Signer today.
[00:13:59] Speaker C: You did that to me last time, too. Because I. I just. I'm sorry. I just keep. I get so excited. You do the film or the song they're singing? A hundred miles or five hundred miles, I don't remember the name, but, you.
[00:14:10] Speaker A: Know, you don't either.
[00:14:11] Speaker C: 500 miles away from home is, you know, one of the lines that they sing.
That is such a traditional song in my. I mean, from what I've experienced that, you know, when people start singing in the audience.
I used to go with my mom to the Woody Guthrie Festival in Okemah. It's every summer. And at the. When we go. When you go to the big night in the Field of Plenty, you know, they have this huge stage outdoors and they sing that as the last song and it's just so moving. And so I go back and forth between, like, laughing at Lewin and the weird decisions he's making and how weird Rudy, as everybody do, like when he's singing a song, like when he sings, I think it's called Shoals of Herring to his dad in the assisted living home. I'm like, oh, my gosh, this is so beautiful. But then of course, you know, because Lewin's life is a mess, it's not like a poignant moment for him. It is just for us. And so I find it really enjoyable to watch. And like I said, it's just one of my comfort watches. Now this time, I totally forgot to even ask you what you thought about it as a first watch.
Now that we're going into like 15 minute reminder.
[00:15:17] Speaker A: I liked it. I did like it.
Like you said, he's not a likable character, but yet I also still found myself rooting for him. There's a part where he goes to a record company and tries to get.
[00:15:30] Speaker C: A horn of all names.
[00:15:32] Speaker A: Want him to succeed, but I was glad that he does seem to kind of learn some things.
And yeah, I was glad the cat was okay.
[00:15:43] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:15:44] Speaker A: Also Adam Driver. I was watching. I was so. I was like, wait. I mean, I recognized Justin Timberlake immediately, but I'm like, that's Adam Driver.
[00:15:52] Speaker C: Yeah. And there's so many people trying to make it, like, in the folk business that are, like, surrounding him and like the John and Gene who write John. Is it John? Jim and Jean, you know, writes that novelty song. And so there's just all these elements that, like, he's trying to do the Bob Dylan thing and go solo and do his own thing. But just doesn't have that spark or that it.
[00:16:10] Speaker A: That Bob Dylan has, I think, you know, when I think of the Coen Brothers, I always tend to think their movies are more like, kind of irreverent.
But this one seemed more like, I don't know, serious or.
I was kind of surprised when I found out it was a Coen Brothers movie.
[00:16:27] Speaker C: I'll say. Well, he goes through relatable things. Like I said, it feels surreal just because it's kind of cyclical, because he kind of. There's some scenes that repeat in the film, but there's so many relatable things that he had. Like, who hasn't had a cat escape out the door when you're trying to.
[00:16:42] Speaker A: Or if you're watching someone else's cat or dog?
[00:16:44] Speaker C: And, yeah, my cat used to do that because she had been astray. And so every once in a while, if I wasn't watching, she would escape out the door, but then she would just stand there like, whoa, I'm free. What now? You know, I don't know what to do, but this cat just runs. And so we've all, you know, and then he has a. Like, some romantic troubles with, you know, somebody he's really interested in and who's married. And so a lot of his trials are, you know, relatable. But just because he's luin, he's just. He just struggles.
[00:17:12] Speaker A: Where can people find this film?
[00:17:14] Speaker C: Oh, okay. It's on Canopy. And we did talk about, you know, I feel like it's. It reminds me so much of a complete unknown. Reminded me so much of this movie. So if you like. If you like folk music, if you like films that have, you know, like, Crazy Hard or Brother, Where Art Thou? That have music, maybe music business as a subject, this would be. Might be the movie for you. Or if you'd like Oscar Isaac's movies, John Goodman's in it. You know, John Goodman is great in everything he's in.
So, yeah, I think it has wide appeal. It does have. You know, I don't know if it's grandma approved. It does have some strong language.
If your grandma was a hippie in the 60s. Is it radio?
[00:17:52] Speaker A: I can't remember if you said, I believe it is.
[00:17:53] Speaker C: Yeah. There's a lot of strong language in it.
[00:17:56] Speaker A: Okay, well, thank you, Jamie.
[00:17:59] Speaker C: Yeah. Thank you for letting me get all that out.
[00:18:03] Speaker A: We will take a quick break, and then I will come back and talk to you about my choice, Almost Famous.
Okay. And we are back. So Amanda just told you about Inside Llewyn Davis. And now I'm gonna take hopefully five minutes to talk about my choice.
All right, Wilhelm, can you start the clock?
Okay, so I decided to watch Almost Famous, which was written and directed by Cameron Crowe. It came out 25 years ago in 2000.
And I remember going to see this in theaters. It is like a comedy drama film, kind of a coming of age story. It is rated R. It's available on Hoopla.
I love this movie. I loved it back then and I hadn't seen it in a while and watched it again. I'm like, I remember why I loved.
Has a really fantastic cast. It is a semi autobiographical story because Cameron Crowe, he was actually a music journalist when he was a teenager and he was. He wrote for Rolling Stone magazine. So it's a story about kid named William played by Patrick Fugitt, who I think this was his first, at least his first major role.
He has a mentor played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lester Bangs, who was a real life rock critic. And I was seeing Philip Seymour Hoffman like, oh man, it just was such a loss.
But William, he gets a gig with Rolling Stone to follow a.
A band that's kind of up and coming called Stillwater. Oh, this movie takes place in the 70s, so another period piece. And he goes on tour with them despite the objections of his overprotective mother, played by the fabulous Frances McDormand. And so she was also. This movie was nominated really for four Oscars.
Kate Hudson is in it. She plays Penny Lane. She and Frances were both nominated for best supporting. They were nominated for best editing, but they won one, which was Crow for Best Original Screenplay.
So it's basically about William's adventures on the road with this band. He's trying to interview them for a story. Billy Crudup plays a guitarist named Russell. And he. William really wants to get an interview with him, but he can't. Russell just keeps avoiding him. Jason Lee plays the lead singer and William kind of gets to observe the inner workings of this band. And there's already like, they haven't even. They're opening acts for, for big band like Black Sabbath. So they have it. They're not like they're on the cusp basically, but there's already tensions. Billy Crudup kind of plays. Russell's sort of like the pretty boy of the band. And that. That's causing some tension.
What I liked about this movie, I mean, A, I thought I love coming of age stories.
B, I think it's got some funny moments. I love the music. I feel like, you know, I was. I was obviously not around back then and I was not. I'm not in a band. I don't know if this is very accurate or true to life, but it feels real. It feels like this might have been what it was like to be on tour and to the.
That scene in the 70s, so.
[00:21:37] Speaker C: Oh, sorry.
[00:21:38] Speaker A: That's okay.
[00:21:40] Speaker C: I wanted Tim to be able to stop. Okay.
[00:21:41] Speaker A: Oh, that's fine.
Sorry. Now. Okay. No, you're fine.
So Crow actually wrote. Co wrote three of the songs from the band that the band sings with his wife at the time, Nancy Wilson, who of heart. Peter Frampton co wrote a couple of songs along with Nancy Wilson.
[00:22:02] Speaker C: Cameron Crowe was dating Nancy Wilson?
[00:22:03] Speaker A: They were married? Yeah.
[00:22:04] Speaker C: Oh, that's crazy.
[00:22:06] Speaker A: Not anymore. But they were.
[00:22:07] Speaker C: Not anymore.
[00:22:08] Speaker A: Yeah. So Peter Frampton wrote. Co wrote a couple of songs with Mike McCready of Pearl Jam.
So I just. Yeah, I think this was. Got some good. Oh, I forgot. Zooey Deschanel plays William's sister.
[00:22:22] Speaker C: Right.
[00:22:23] Speaker A: I just feel like it's got some really. It's got some good acting. It's an. It's interesting story.
I like I said, oh, there was a scene on my favorite scene on the bus, the tiny dancer scene. I'm a sucker for like a musical sing along scene or a montage, anything like that. So that I have watched that scene multiple times throughout my life.
Kate Hudson, I think is pretty good as Penny Lane.
She. William kind of. She has like a kind of a thing with Russell, but William of course, gets a crush on her.
I just. I love. I feel like there's good chemistry between all of them. Camaraderie. And I feel like Crow really knows the music scene. Maybe it mean, you know, he was like I said, semi autobiographical. So I just feel like, yeah, this really adds a layer of authenticity to it.
I say that word a lot, but.
But yeah, it. I would think that if you are a fan of. Well, of Cameron Crow. Of course, if you are a fan of music, maybe biopics. Oh, there we go. I'll just give my recommendations real quick.
The. I was. Let's see.
Sing street. If you like that. If you like.
[00:23:44] Speaker C: That's so good.
[00:23:44] Speaker A: The Doors.
Oh, that thing you do. Maybe. Which is a little more like.
[00:23:49] Speaker C: But you've recommended that a lot.
[00:23:50] Speaker A: I love that movie too. It's a little more like kind of innocent bubblegum kind of, you know, definitely way different vibe than this movie, but I do love it. The Commitments.
I love that.
[00:24:04] Speaker C: What do you got to cover it when it comes up on Hoopla? Or something sometime.
[00:24:07] Speaker A: So I think if you are a fan of any of those kind of movies, you would. You would appreciate this. Like I said, it's on hoopla. I can't remember, it's rated R. So, you know, viewer discretion advice, but. All right, well, I think that wraps us up for today.
Thanks, Amanda.
[00:24:26] Speaker C: Thanks, Jamie.
[00:24:26] Speaker A: All right, we'll see you all soon.
[00:24:30] Speaker B: 5 Minute Film Finder is a digital program brought to you by Pioneer Library System in Oklahoma.
All opinions expressed in this episode are those of the host and not those of the organization.
Five Minute Film Finder is produced, recorded, and mixed by Ben C. Theme music by Ben C.
If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please email podcast@pioneerlibrary system.org Remember to like, review and subscribe.
Thanks for listening.
