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Issue: Summer 2017-8
The Girl From The Song (2017) movie review
Love Will Keep Us Apart
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I would go to hell and back for you ... Would you follow? (poster)
A young music student in London meets an outrageous young woman who pushes him onto a club stage, introduces him to casual sex, and then disappears. He decides to find her at Burning Man, Nevada, the music festival. Yes, an adaptation of Orpheus and Eurydice.
The movie opens with Eric alone in a nighttime campus practicing Gluck's "Orpheus ed Eurydice".
The filmmakers wrote, "we meticulously defined with each department the way the myth and it's elements were going to be represented in the film. Trying for it to always be present, but simply as part of an extra layer, not always visible."
THE MYTH
It tells the story of Orpheus, a young musician who loses his beloved Eurydice. Devastated by her death, he travels to the Underworld with the help of his lyre to plead to the Gods and try to get her back. Moved by the young musician's shattering melodies, Hades and Persephone -Gods of the Underworld- decide to grant his wish on one condition: " "he must travel the journey on his own, without turning back to see if Eurydice is following, until he's arrived to the world of the living ..." He must trust that she is following him. Orpheus travels the journey back, going through dangers; wondering whether the gods have played him for a fool... And when he's about to reach the world of the living, when he can almost savor the reencounter, something within him makes him look back... And Orpheus turns around and sees how Eurydice vanishes in front of his eyes, dragged again to Hades' Underworld.
girlfromthesong.com
Some versions have Orpheus turning back to embrace her not realising that she is still in the shadows of the underworld.
THE GIRL FROM THE SONG is produced by ESAC Films, that is, a film school. It is technically very good. The photography is excellent, the costumes appropriate, the settings - a British school and the harsh white-on-white of the Nevada desert frame the characters and provide a visually interesting experience.
The story is fairly interesting and fairly universal -- boy meet girl, girl disappears, boy remembers girl wanted to go to Burning Man, boy sells guitar to get there. In this case the hot and dusty Nevada desert during a musical festival stands in for hell.
Joanna I'd walk to hell and back for you.
And so, just as he promised, Eric looks for Jo in hell. Various fun times and conflicts occur.
Depending on which version of the myth (see text box) you choose, Orpheus/Eric turns too soon because of eagerness or (the film-makers' version) something in his character.
Described as being on a journey of self-discover, it is difficult to decide whether Eric does discover himself or grow up a bit through this trial-by-adolescence.
Throughout the film the adjective "gormless" kept coming to mind. Eric is a soft lad who is pushed to the stage by a girl, and doesn't embark on a journey of self-discovery as much as somewhat morosely follows Jo expecting her to fall back into his arms upon their reunion.
Look where it brought you. You are not the same man.
I have to disagree with the writers there. THE GIRL FROM THE SONG might seem big and powerful emotionally to the very young, but it is the kind of film that, once watched, slips from memory and need never be seen again. It looks pretty, it sounds pretty, and the people in it are pretty. Ultimately what this film lacks is the defining moment. Stories should be about pivotal moments, that critical choice that changes life forever. This is not that story.
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January 2018
Ali Kayn is a freelance photojournalist and the founding editor of Festivale Online Magazine. Festivale was founded in October, 1996 to promote Melbourne and Victoria, provide mentorship to developing writers, an outlet for talented fans, and a test bed for software and hardware under review. She lives in Melbourne, Victoria with a garden full of birds.
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Due for Australian release ? Nov, 2017 (2017-11) See it on DVDs and streaming services. |
Just the facts:Title: The Girl From The Song (2017) The Players: Lewis Rainer, Joséphine Berry, Official website: http://www.thegirlfromthesong.com IMDb entry For scheduled release dates, see the coming attractions section. For more information about this movie, check out the internet movie database. |
Published in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 
Filed: 01-Nov-2017
