Songs My Brothers Taught Me

2016 • 93 minutes

About this movie

The setting is the often starkly beautiful Badlands of South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation; most of the key players are young Lakota Native Americans who attend Little Wound High School. Johnny and his preteen sister, Jashaun, spend time on horseback when they're not selling illegal liquor or tattoo-designed apparel. Director Chloe Zhao captures the subtleties of a marginalized existence in which the historic culture of a people can't compete on a level playing field with the modern problems of poverty, alcoholism, and violence. Amazingly, she embroiders her tale with moments of breathtaking natural beauty that offset the despair her characters struggle against. SONGS is an auspicious debut feature from a director whose superb eye is informed by the sophisticated and nuanced compassion she brings to her story. Synopsis courtesy of Film Forum.

Ratings and reviews

Chloe Zhao is working on capturing what it means to be American from the view of a Chinese director. As China has become more capitalistic, she seems to be attracted to the idea of Americanism coming not from capitalism but independence with a focus of the ethereal nature of the American outback. Her eye loves the wide open spaces and the natural acting of new faces. She may be the most American artist making movies today.

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I love this movie......💕