User reviews

The director, Chloe Zaho said she's hoping "for the audiences to leave the theater feeling that they have gotten to know a group of very complex characters and to have a glimpse into just how diverse and vivacious the Lakota people of Pine Ridge really are, instead of the two dimensional stereotypes we often see represented in today's dominant culture". Well, it's a success.

This movie spoke to me of love and care. Of family - in the most broader sense that this big concept can be stretched to - and belonging. Of home and community. There's something real sweet about it... A real tenderness in the way it is filmed, in the way these characters' stories are told. Some sort of hope in the face of the disappointments and obstacles they may and do encounter. A hope that lies in the love and care of the siblings, Jashaun & Johnny for one another and, more broadly, in the bound the people of Pine Ridge have to each other - and for some to the land itself.

I enjoyed the film, a contemporary portrait of growing up and coming of age in America in a very different setting and culture than most. Early on, the movie gave me the distinct feeling of watching a documentary rather than a fiction with rehearsed actors. Images tell the stories as much as the dialog, which is very spare. The characters seem very real, as real as their scruffy surroundings. A worthwhile portrait of a part of society most of us won't see, "really" see. The Badlands scenery is very stark and so are (most) of the lives depicted. It's interesting that I saw this film in a contemporary arts center, where it played for two nights. It seems films like this struggle to get on enough screens in enough places to get noticed much. Maybe some people will get to see in on video, I hope.

First time director Chloe Zhao takes her cues from Terrence Malick in this beautiful portrait of two siblings on the Pine Ridge Res.

DeShaun is the youngest of two full biological siblings, taken care of by her older brother Johnny, who is about to graduate high school. A 3rd full sibling, Cody, is imprisoned, while the siblings' mother doesn't quite seem up to the task of taking care of any of her children. As graduation approaches Johnny faces a difficult decision; stay on the res where opportunity is limited but where he can take care of his sister and mother, or leave for L.A. where he knows no one and has nothing, in order to follow his girlfriend who has a full ride scholarship and who will be living in the dorms at school.

There's not a huge amount of plot outside this main conflict and the characters mostly amble in and out of situations and conversations with very little narrative threads connecting them. But Zhao remains committed to capturing the joys and hardship of residential life where everyone has to hustle for money but beauty, friends and family are everywhere to be seen.

It's easy to make a film like this go wrong, with all of the potential possibilities to be lazy and write these characters and stereotypes. Of course, the film doesn't do that and it's because Chloe Zhao has a real knack for creating profound humanity through the images that represent this type of life, humanity that she infuses her characters with. This is a very special film and this is a director to watch out for.

Watched this to see Chloé Zhao's debut feature and was rewarded with a slow immersion into life on an Indian Reservation in South Dakota. There's a loose plot about a brother and sister who, after the death of a distant father figure, are working out what the future holds for them, but this is much more "scenes from the reservation".

It reminded me of Gummo (a film I love) in its depiction of a world almost without authority figures, where tragedy (In Gummo, a tornado, here; a loss of culture generations past, and decimation from alcohol) seems to leave the inhabitants disoriented, struggling to know what to do.

The performances from the non-professional cast are stellar. Zhao has somehow managed to capture what seems like a slice of real life but in a way that makes even a difficult life seem beautiful and achingly close to something bigger.

I have yet to see The Rider, or Nomadland, but from what I've seen of them, they look to have a similar energy. That Marvel tapped Zhao to direct the upcoming Eternals movie is fascinating. It will be interesting to see how this aesthetic looks when it has a bigger budget, but also must serve a wider audience seeking the next step in a connected narrative. I believe Zhao will deliver something special.

Unfortunately I watched this movie coming off watching some other incredible movies previously. The smilarly styled mexican film "Roma" (focusing on observing not narrative) and another Chinese film called "Better Days" (an epic character exploration) Those two film had the ability to truely capture me and bring me into the world of the characters and feel a level of emotional connection which is rare with most movies. This movie is also about bringing you into the world of the characters as they go through personal growth but while the cinematography was indeed nice, the locations were pretty and the acting was rather good. The lack of a very engaging story and arc risks making this film, while well made and well acted. A little flat and boring. By no means is this a bad movie. The concept is interesting. Yet I feel it could have been told in a richer more emotionally captivating way be it visually or narrative. Should you watch it? Sure if its for free on Netflix or another streaming service. However I personally wouldn't pay for it outright as a film. As there are better films out there.

Intense, naturalistic drama of young people living on a reservation has a complex narrative with lots of diverse characters; skillfully stage d and brilliantly photographed.

This is a stunningly true to life and tender movie. I had just watched Sky, in which Native Americans and their connections with a white woman were portrayed through the lens of a European romantic fantasy about NA life in America. Songs was the opposite - unsentimental, unsparing and filled with beautifully understated acting that let the story breathe. The photography was exquisite - I know that country and found myself longing to be there. The ragged weave of the story was precisely how life is lived by so many of us - no big epiphanies, no smarmed up resolutions, no miracles except for how people can hold fast to love. I thank the film-makers for their deep respect for the people and their recognition of the way the land is the base of hope for far too few of us.

Johnny, a teenager living with his mother and younger sister in the Pine Ridge Reserve, decides to change the course of his life, with the unexpected death of his father, a rodeo cowboy.

Chloé Zhao's debut film, director of the acclaimed Nomadland (which I look forward to for see it), where she adresses her concern for social issues, forgotten minorities and outcasts.

The script is a bit poor in detail, because it was written as it was shot, day by day, which makes the experience interesting but at the same time vague. The film is very competent when it comes to what it gives to the audience, considering the human condition and the way it portrays the day-to-day lives of those who live with the uncertainty of tomorrow.

The cinematography resembles to documentary, with the perfect atmosphere to create empathy with the characters.

It's a tribute to traditions, affective bonds and respect for the lifestyle that deviates from the so-called normal patterns.

Of course by now everyone reading this should know that Chloe Zhao is only the second woman to win the Oscar as Best Director and that her film "Nomadland" also won Best Picture. What many people may not know is that "Nomadland" was only Zhao's third feature film, the others being the very moving and blissfully beautiful ""The Rider" and this, "Songs My Brothers Taught Me" and that together they make an extraordinary trilogy of films about the American hinterland. "Nomadland" had a major star at its centre but for the most part was populated by real people playing variations of themselves and while this is fiction and scripted, "Songs My Brothers Taught Me" could be a documentary with Zhao again using non-professional actors in major roles. Visually the obvious influence is Malick but Zhao's films are uniquely her own and if you watch these films back to back they are unmistakeably Zhao's. This did reasonably well on the festival circuit but was obviously never aimed at the mass market. If you haven't seen it, seek it out. Like "The Rider" and "Nomadland" it's a gem.

The first movie written and directed by Chloé Zhao is a blueprint for her next two films. One can even say that the three films at times seem the same one, but this one is the one in which you can see the strings more clearly. The movie has a kind of open story where different characters enter and exit, like in "Nomadland", and like the other two movies, it's a little affected at times. You can see much clearer here the two main artistic references of Zhao: Terrence Malick and a kind of independent European cinema, that has in the Dardenne brothers a stylistic companion. It's a good example of a new artist trying to find her voice.

The first 45 minutes or so of Songs might fool you into thinking you're watching another well-made, indie Sundance movie. Good, but nothing special.

And then as if by magic, the movie sucks you into its universe. Seemingly disjointed pieces of story start blending together to create a beautiful whole, a story full of despair and of hope, of ugliness and beauty. It floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee, eschewing political or social commentary for a poetic, equally effective approach. A story of brotherly love in a stunning and tragic landscape.

I'm not ashamed to say the final moments brought tears to my eyes. Beautifully shot, understated but powerful, SONGS is a really impressive, mature debut, and should be on your watch-list for this year.

The characters are beautifully portrayed, as Chloé Zhao is capable of. You immediately recognize her documentary-style approach, with some really eye-catching shots. But it lacks a clear plot, and therefore tension, which makes the whole a bit too slow and dragging. Still an interesting watch if you are interested in Zhao's work...

I just watched nomadland yesterday and found it over rated and decided to gives her 3 movies a try

So here is the outcome I finds the movie is full of depth and substance, you can see that most of the performers acted out brilliantly.. most of them is not an actor themselves too except the main character and his mom which is the voice of Pocahontas.

The story told from the point of view of two siblings Johnny and Deshaun which portrays both of the different perspective toward the place

The portrayals of the sibling bond is realistic , it started off great with the introduction of the reserves and life in the plain.. you get to know the actor is gonna leave to LA and finding illegal jobs so that he can get enough money to leave the plains, working as a bootlegger through tout the second act things started to fall apart for Johnny such as the questioning of Aurelia family about the plans he had such as work and lodging in LA.. later on he is met with other bootleggers decide to beat him up and torched the van, while the sister tries to reminisce and grief towards his father by befriending a ex-felon helping him out by selling his art work.

This movie portrays the 3 act which I find to be great both the sibling finds a closure through their fathers funeral etc

I'm gonna rate it 8.

I watched Nomadland a few weeks ago and watched this movie today too, frankly I excited at the firstly minutes but later I did not find what I expected, maybe firstly I shouldn't have watched the Nomadland, therefore I guess my expectation was high, I want to say something about the movie; anymore all youth can't see the future, because there aren't almost trouble-free country, people want to go to the other countries, they can't dream anything and they questioning life, therefore problems in this movie there are all places, all options are before us, we must see them and be courageous, otherwise it is not even sincere that we are caught between happiness and unhappiness where we are.

« Songs My Brothers Taught Me » invites you to discover life in a Native American reservation, namely Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. But definitely not in a superficial way: you will not find yourself on the side of a dusty road buying Indian trinkets and other souvenirs before having a couple of pancakes at the local restaurant and inserting a few coins into a slot machine at the local gambling house. No, this is real life indeed; and by real I mean drab, monotonous, without scope. Not that such a life is not worth living at all : the hero, Johnny Winters, a young Oglala Indian, does experience a few good times: in his final year of high school, in company with his thirteen-year-old sister Joshaun who is very fond of him and naturally with his beautiful girlfriend Aurelia.

But apart from social or personal intercourse, there is not much to do or to hope for in Pine Ridge. As far as employment is concerned, now that he is graduated, our young Native American struggles to get by while accommodating his mother and sister. A weak income earned from selling alcohol, not only a menial job but an illegal one into the bargain since drink is banned on the reservation's grounds. A better position is out of the question, the opportunities within a reservation being close to zero.The only hope for him to make a decent living is to get away from his place of birth. To this purpose he plans to accompany Aurelia to Los Angeles, where she is to further her studies. But that will mean leaving Joshaun behind. And the question is: will the sensitive little girl cope with the ordeal? And how will Johnny manage to square the circle?

As can be seen, a psychological side adds up to the sociological interest. Also the writer of the script, Chloé Zhao masters this dimension brilliantly. The characters (Johnny, his sister, his mother, the tattooist...) are as well drawn as is the aspect of life in the reservation. And the young Oglala's questions and expectations as well as his moral dilemma are examined in depth. Which makes this film a full immersion not only in the everyday life of a seldom shown environment but also a plunge into the psyche of several of its inhabitants. Very well interpreted by John Reddy as Johnny and the touching Joshaun St. John as his loving little sister, Chloé Zhao's movie could qualify as a masterpiece were it not a few defects: a rather disorganized, improvised approach and one or two tedious passages. But it is a first film after all and that should not be enough to deter you from watching this rare foray into a territory little seen on the big screen, thus getting to know worthwhile people you would be unlikely to meet in the flesh in real life.

And then I watched this! And it was awesome I loved loved loved how she incorporates all of the characters! This was so heartwarming and I learnt so much without having to hear some voice telling me what to learn, I just felt the information in my heart and in my soul until erelong my spirit took flight and I realized I love this lady so much! Cloe? Oh boy I hope she sticks around cause this lady is talented!

Perhaps if you gave the assignment to first year film students to find a subject, follow their life for month, this would be the assignment submitted. The filmmaker admits she didnt have a script, as films thesis changed along the way. Lack of story, script, thesis is evident. This film then becomes perhaps scenery of places the viewer perhaps hasnt been, or following res life perhaps for any brave viewer that its foriegn to? If the filmmaker intended to capture indigenous persons attachment to lands (she purported in interview),this movie missed its mark. Having lived many decades within a culture which reveres land as living soulful being, Id hoped for success. Highlight of film was perhaps first time performances, Jashaun St. John providing noteworthy talent portraying younger sister to protagonist brother. Holistically film's painful time spent, even if viewed as travelogue for viewers whove never spent anytime around the Pine Ridge res area of plains states, still hard to extract a storyline. It doenst work as a documentary, a drama, or trravelogue. Lets call it a slice of life for brothers,mother and sister from Lakota territory and hope the cast save a copy among home movies for thier grandkids.

The prison of self-doubt we've made for our boys (with the "man-up" mantra) and the prison that men make for themselves and each other, might matter less if males didn't then imprison the opposite sex to bolster their vapid self-worth. Less pretentious than "Nomadland", this earlier outing by Zhao weaves so many strands and details it deserves repeated watching, though many will find it "uneventful" from the outset and likely switch off. Throughout the western world, alcohol is demonised, not as the outcome of oppression and social ills, but through religion as something sinful and curable through "community". Maybe if religion didn't promise the unattainable, there'd be less self- and social repression. The lesson of the boxing class is simple: often in life it is not brute strength that gets you through, but stealth: learn to outwit your rival, anticipate his or her moves. And above all, should it end in defeat, lean into your failures with renewed wisdom, not self-pity, just as Johnny "leans into the wind, so as not to get blown away".

This astonishing first film by director Chloe Zhao may not have much of a story but the way she allows us see how the Reservations are still housing native Americans in the present time is truly educational to an English man like me. Zhao is Chinese which to me makes this small masterpiece even more amazing.

Songs My Brother Taught me is slow to start and I only watched it as I've read about Zhao's reputation, having won an Oscar for directing Nomadland. Slow beginning, but as it progresses and I get to know the family and I started to care about them. It follows a flimsy story about an eleven year old Lakota girl, played so sweetly by Jashaun St John and her older brother played by John Reddy. Neither actors were professional apparently but they held my interest to the point that I just wanted to know what happens next.

The direction is crisp, creating interesting angle shots, at times shocking in it's raw brutality and constantly engaging once you start to get involved with the characters. I have two more movies by Chloe Zhao lined up to watch and can't wait to see them.

The heart of this moving film is the family and how they survive on the reservation, trying to live normal lives as we all do but sometimes getting trapped into the world of drugs and alcohol that is common in poor communities. Johnny, for example, buys and sells alcohol and is attacked by rival neighbours for stepping on their racket. He wants to go to LA with his girlfriend but is it just a dream that so many young people have who feel they need to escape from their stifling existence. This thread runs through the movie as does the sadness of his younger sister who adores him and becomes depressed at the thought of him leaving her. This I found very moving. Great cinematography with sweeping vistas, I can't praise it too much, maybe the best film I've watched this year.