{"id":3942,"date":"2016-10-14T08:48:45","date_gmt":"2016-10-14T12:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=3942"},"modified":"2024-07-28T12:27:56","modified_gmt":"2024-07-28T16:27:56","slug":"songs-my-brother-taught-me-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=3942","title":{"rendered":"Songs My Brother Taught Me-2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Songs My Brother Taught Me-2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director Chlo\u00e9 Zhao<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring John Reddy, Jashaun St. John<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #494<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"80038286\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed October 14, 2016<\/p>\n

Grade: B+<\/strong><\/p>\n

Songs My Brother Taught Me (2015) is quite an understated film experience, but despite the slow pace, I found the film of great interest.<\/p>\n

The Native American population is largely ignored in cinema (and perhaps other avenues) so what a treat it was to see a film, albeit a small, quiet film, being made to represent this group of people.<\/p>\n

Forest Whitaker produces the film.<\/p>\n

Undoubtedly the funding was responsible for allowing it to be made at all.<\/p>\n

Living on an Indian reservation in remote South Dakota, the story focuses on Lakota Sioux brother and sister Johnny and Jashaun- aged sixteen and eleven, respectively.<\/p>\n

When their father dies in a house fire, they are forced to ponder their future within the Indian reservation, and also their desires to escape their lives and move to Los Angeles with Johnny’s girlfriend- also an inhabitant of the land.<\/p>\n

The film is largely a slice of life on a reservation and the trials and tribulations of the members who live there. Johnny’s mother is a kindhearted yet boozy young woman with another son in prison.<\/p>\n

Jashaun’s mentor, a tattooed man who is creative and attends alcoholics anonymous meetings, only to be caught drunk by Jashaun. A rivalry between Johnny and some rival boys develops.<\/p>\n

Finally, Johnny aspires to purchase a truck from an older gentleman. The film is laced with different facets of real-life situations- trivial to some, but an entrance into a culture most know so little about.<\/p>\n

I found the film quite interesting and compelling in a very subdued way. A marvel is the frequent long views of the prairie land- sweeping winds and gorgeous scenery for miles. Many shots of Johnny and Jashaun are featured- simply gazing into the crisp air in deep thought.<\/p>\n

We see the conflict put upon both youngsters. Johnny, quite handsome and the object of affection by more than one young lady, yearns for a more exciting life. His girlfriend will be attending college in California. Pretty and smart- she is sure to move on to success, but Johnny plans to go with her.<\/p>\n

Her brother inquires how Johnny will live with no job and no money- all valid points. Will Johnny age and remain on the reservation for the rest of his life or escape to a different world?<\/p>\n

Jashaun, quite young, is filled with quiet energy and curiosity. She is educated and wise beyond her years. What will become of her without a father and surrounded by some unsavory types that her family knows?<\/p>\n

Not an offering for those intent on seeing more action than thoughtfulness, but for the patient viewer, it is a fascinating introspective treat.<\/p>\n

Songs My Brother Taught Me (2015) taught me a lesson in good storytelling.<\/p>\n

Independent Spirit Award Nominations:\u00a0<\/strong>Best First Feature, Best Cinematography, Acura Someone to Watch Award<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Songs My Brother Taught Me-2015 Director Chlo\u00e9 Zhao Starring John Reddy, Jashaun St. John Scott’s Review #494 Reviewed October 14, 2016 Grade: B+ Songs My Brother Taught Me (2015) is quite an understated film experience, but despite the slow pace, I found the film of great interest. The Native American population is largely ignored in … Continue reading Songs My Brother Taught Me-2015<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[240,5115,192,2622,41,211,5118,5117],"tags":[241,5116,193,2624,73,212,5120,5119],"class_list":["post-3942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2015-movie-reviews","category-chloe-zhao","category-dramas","category-forest-whitaker","category-indiefilms","category-indie-dramas","category-jashaun-st-john","category-john-reddy","tag-2015-movie-reviews","tag-chloe-zhao","tag-dramas-2","tag-forest-whitaker","tag-independent-films","tag-indie-dramas","tag-jashaun-st-john","tag-john-reddy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3942"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20425,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3942\/revisions\/20425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}