Songs My Brothers Taught Me

There was a time, prior to widespread availability of streaming anything and everything, that I would have felt that the aimless, meandering feel of a certain subset of indie films would have been a refreshing artistic statement, but now I just feel bored. Maybe I've lost some culture or appreciation of craft. Coming from a Chinese born filmmaker, I would have thought a movie that takes place on a reservation would feel disingenuous, but I have to hand it to Zhao, this was as genuine as it gets.

Zhao is here clearly drawing inspiration from Malick and Reichardt - and possibly Harmony Korine's 'Gummo' - both in terms of themes and style. But that's not to say that this film is derivative; there is a distinctive voice here of a talented filmmaker that is perhaps further refined in her later films (I'm yet to see them). Zaho's rapid switching between day and night and use of diegetic radio music hints at this talent. I will use a cliché, this is storytelling as 'raw and honest' cinema.

Vibes

Zhao gives a great realistic portrayal of modern Native American life in a reservation. No wonder since most of it played by real people. But the drama is a bit too minimal to really hold my interest fully the whole movie.

Quite a good movie with great images of the Badlands lacking a little bit of story telling to be a really good movie or even more.

The cinematography and pacing made me connect with and care about the characters in this movie. This is a well-crafted film that's worth watching.

Why you should be a Chloé Zhao fan and why you should watch her movies, you definitely get the answer. Splendid debut; natural cast, understated dialogues and calm atmosphere. It is possible to find most of the things you are looking for in a movie. Joshua James Richards' artwork also very good.(also Nomadland and The Rider) Is it a masterpiece? Or a very good movie? No. But if you want to be a guest of Zhao's fantastic career, this is the first place you should start, enjoy it.

The world of the film is deeply compelling, even if the story itself is less so. Zhao's great achievement here is bringing us into contact with life on the reservation, the details that fill out that world, details that are far from the everyday experiences of the rest of the world. She's clearly a humanist filmmaker, with a deep sense of empathy for these people.

I finally watched Songs My Brothers Taught Me. It's like I've visited a different world for an hour and a half. It was great to come across that clear, melancholic and poetic visuality that we also saw in Chloé Zhao's later films The Rider and Nomadland. I felt resting while watching.