PUBLIC DOMAIN FOCUS FEATURES TRADITIONAL CULTURE FILM REVIEW John Paul Jones’s Cry WEEK 11, 2021 Robin Wright’s Directorial Debut: ‘Land’ Let’s transform the Revolutionary War hero’s A woman’s devastating grief drives her off the grid “I have not yet begun to fight!” into a call for endurance. where she finds hardship and, eventually, friendship.

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TRADITIONAL CULTURE | ART | ENTERTAINMENT TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2021 B1

SIMON CHADWICK

Simon Chadwick

I thought to myself: I’d love to get one of those harpsI thought and play to thismyself: music. I’d love to get one of those Sylvia Crawford, musician harps and play this music. Sylvia Crawford, musician

COURTESYCourtesy OFof SYLVIASylvia CRAWFORDCrawford TRADITIONALTraditional MUSICMusic (Above) Musician Sylvia Crawford is one of a number of experts and enthusiasts dedicated to Coming HomeHome learning and playing the early Irish harp—a rich Irish to Ireland’sIreland’s LostLost tradition that died out at the end of the 19th Harp TraditionTradition century. (Left) During her Musician Sylvia Crawford studies of the early Irish harp, and the early Irish harp Sylvia Crawford discovered a kinship with harper Patrick Quin. LORRAINELorraine FERRIERFerrier The new type of harp that came to An engraving Ireland was based on the Anglo-conti- of Quin in One of the most enduring of sounds, nental harp tradition, musician Sylvia an edition of synonymous with the Emerald Isle, is Crawford said on a video call. Eventu- The Monthly that of the dulcet Irish harp. But the Irish ally, as the old Irish harp makers and Pantheon harp that many of us are familiar with harpers—the term used to describe (1809). is a relatively modern instrument. Prior the old harp players—passed away, the to the late 19th century, Ireland had a knowledge of the early harp tradition rich tradition of making and playing went with them. a different kind of harp, which is now referred to as the early, or old Irish harp. Continued on B4Page 4 B22 | ARTS & CULTURE TUESDAY, MARCHWeek 16, 11, 2021 TUESDAY,Week 11, 2021 MARCH 16, 2021 ARTS & CULTURE |B3 3

TradiTional CulTure ple practicing cultural preservation in field. Instead, in the stifling and ugly groups. My favorite of these examples culture of today that seeks to silence has to do with writer Nathan McCall, dissent and ruin opponents, we should who once spent time in prison where he regard ourselves as guerrillas, irregular TH helped organize a “Western civ discus- warriors whose weapons are the “best of 2021 NTD 8 Letting Our Lives Speak: sion group.” The inmates read such phi- the West” and who seek to inspire others losophers as Spinoza, Kant, and Hegel, by our example and by living in truth. and spent hours discussing their ideas. Nor should we turn a blind eye to International Many people in the world of home- current events. When Berman wrote Some Ways schooling already qualify as Berman’s his book, “cancel culture,” “de-plat- Chinese Vocal NMIs. They worship together, meet at the forming,” and suppression of free playground, create co-ops to enhance speech were in their infancy. If we fail their children’s education, share books to track the political developments of Competition and ideas, and forge tight friendships. our time, if we fail to speak out against to Fight the Whatever our situation, many of us lawlessness and attacks on our lib- can take steps to become cultural pres- erty, we may someday find ourselves ervationists. We might consider forming Morris Berman’s book on stripped of our rights and freedoms, “The Book of Courage” a book club, for example, where we read the decline of Western repressed to the extent that resistance includes short and discuss the classics or works like culture. is impossible. biographies of over 30 Culture Wars inspiring heroes for those published by Encounter Books. children. PD-US We might gather with a small group of PUBLIC DOMAIN Teach the Culture to Our Children Jeff Minick friends every month—or every week, To readers familiar with my writing, I for the ambitious—share a meal, and will now sound like a broken record. these mini-biographies, and we should raditionalists of whatever talk over some piece of art or music, It’s up to us to impart the culture aim to do the same today through what political stripe seem to have or a movie we’ve watched together. of Western Civilization to our we teach our own children. given up on winning the cul- Just as we might join hands children. Whether this effort in- ture wars waged over the last with family and friends, so too volves teaching them “Twinkle, Doing Good in a Fallen World five decades or so. The past should we engage the com- Twinkle Little Star,” the story At the end of “The Twilight of American Tyear in particular has brought setbacks munities in which we live. of Little Red Riding Hood, Culture,” Berman writes: “I leave it up and defeats: the removal or desecration We should keep abreast the “Little House on the to you to decide if the glass if half-full or of statues of American heroes, schools of decisions made by our Prairie” books, the “Iliad,” half-empty, or whether that even mat- erasing the names of some of these same town council, shop local- or hundreds of other clas- ters. For the “monk” of the 21st century heroes, classics removed from English ly when possible rather sics, the point is that we will not be pursuing his or her activity literature reading lists, and professors than buy from global must hand down our for grand, heroic outcomes, but for the and writers attacked for defending the behemoths, and take heritage to our young sense of worth and meaning that the heritage of history and literature. the time when going to people. The same holds activity itself contains. The work may Pessimists say the war is lost, that we a convenience store or true for all the arts. Cer- lead somewhere; it may not. Our job is should run up the white flag and ac- a coffee shop to chat a tainly, many people can only to give it our best shot.” knowledge the reality that the decon- few moments with an no longer depend on the A few lines later, Berman concludes structionists and radicals, having taken employee. public schools to do so. his book by citing an old Quaker, “Let control of much of our media, Holly- When we do these Even more important- your life speak,” and then adds: “”In the wood, schools, corporations, high tech, things, we are strength- ly, we must pass along to end, that’s the only thing that matters.” ening the bonds of our them the virtues and val- Agreed. and government, have won. A portrait of Matsuo Basho, master of the Not so fast. haiku, by Hokusai. neighborhoods and local ues esteemed by our ances- Keep the faith, everyone. And hold fast Cultural preservationists still have communities. tors. Temperance, prudence, to the good. weapons in their arsenal. News outlets we can reverse that conquest overnight. courage, and justice were once like The Epoch Times, online sites like Instead, we must take the long view. The Best of the West staples of what children learned Jeff Minick has four children and a Intellectual Takeout, and publishers Restoring the standards of excellence in I first read “The Twilight of Amer- at home and at school. growing platoon of grandchildren. For like Encounter Books continue to em- the arts and the practice of honor and ican Culture” years ago. When I Just this week at our local second- 20 years, he taught history, literature, phasize the vital importance of family decency in the public square may take returned to my copy this week, I was hand bookstore, I bought Hermann and Latin to seminars of homeschool- and tradition in a healthy culture. Aca- decades. Along the way, we must expect delighted to find so many dog-eared Hagedorn’s “The Book of Courage,” ing students in Asheville, N.C. He is demic institutions like Hillsdale Col- delays, troubles, and even suffering as pages, underlined sentences, and notes which was completely unfamiliar to the author of two novels—“Amanda I’d written to myself. me. Published over 90 years ago and Bell” and “Dust On Their Wings,” and lege and the University of Dallas still we slowly work to rebuild society. Let’s refashion the Revolu- VOCAL.NTDTV.COM teach Chaucer, Shakespeare, Bach, Patience and endurance must be our I was happy, too, to find Berman us- tionary War cry by John Paul aimed at young readers, this thick vol- two works of non-fiction, “Learning Mozart, Michelangelo, Plato, and Aris- watchwords. ing the word “guerrilla” to describe this ume contains accounts of Hannibal, As I Go” and “Movies Make The Man.” REGISTER Jones, “I have not yet begun to GOLD AWARD totle without labeling those great men underground movement of NMIs. fight!” A portrait of John Paul Joan of Arc, Daniel Boone, Giuseppe Today, he lives and writes in Front +1–888–477–9228 “dead white males.” A bestseller right The New Monasticism Withdrawing from our decadent cul- Jones, circa 1781, by Charles Garibaldi, and 27 other heroes. Hage- Royal, Va. See JeffMinick.com to follow ture doesn’t mean leaving the battle- dorn clearly meant to inspire youth with his blog. NEW YORK Oct. 2021 VOCAL＠GLOBALCOMPETITIONS.ORG now at Amazon and at Barnes and Noble Although on his blog he is no fan of Wilson Peale. is George Orwell’s classic novel about American corporations, of George Bush totalitarianism, “1984.” II, or of Donald Trump, Berman looks to No—we must not even think about tradition for answers. He devotes a good giving up. Instead, let’s remember the portion of “The Twilight of American words of Revolutionary War hero John Culture” to what he calls the NMIs, or Paul Jones, who when called upon by new monastic individuals. He takes as the British to surrender his ship replied: his model the monasteries that came “I have not yet begun to fight!” into existence after the collapse of Rome Here are some strategies to strengthen in the fifth and sixth centuries, those our hearts and carry on these battles. tiny outposts of learning where genera- tions of monks worked to preserve the documents of the past. He then argues that we can live the Patience and endurance same way, removing ourselves from a declining culture and pursuing truth must be our watchwords. and goodness. A few years ago, Rod Dre- her’s “The Benedict Option” advocated a similar course of action for Christians Be Patient in an increasingly hostile world. In “The Twilight of American Culture,” Berman describes the typical NMI as a Morris Berman examines our civili- person who has little interest in money zation and finds it in decline. He cites or power, lives frugally, and works as reams of evidence from literature, poli- much for love as for cash. As an example tics, and our culture in general to make of the credo of the NMI, Berman cites the case that America’s power and in- that master of haiku, Matsuo Basho: fluence in the world will shrink in the coming years, in no small part because “Journeying through the world of a degraded culture. To and fro, to and fro But here’s what we must remember: Cultivating a small field.” This radical transformation of our culture took 50 years or more to achieve fruition. Building Communities We are deluding ourselves if we believe Berman offers several instances of peo- Ying and Yang by Sandra Kuck

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Since we can no longer rely on public schools to teach Western classics to our children, we must do so ourselves. An illustration in an 1889 issue of the Danish magazine Punch. B44 | ARTS & CULTURE TUESDAY, MARCHWeek 16, 11, 2021 TUESDAY,Week 11, 2021 MARCH 16, 2021 ARTS & CULTURE |B5 5

SIMON CHADWICK COURTESY OF SYLVIA CRAWFORD TRADITIONAL MUSIC

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Crawford is one of a number of early Irish music experts and enthusiasts who are re- Coming Home to Ireland’s viving the old Irish harp tradition. In 2019, she completed her master’s in ethnomusi- cology, specifically focusing on 18th-cen- tury Irish harper Patrick Quin. Lost Harp Tradition “My aim is to look at what the evidence is about the old tradition. ... But also to bear in mind that it was traditional music, so to Musician Sylvia Crawford and the early Irish harp respect that, and bear in mind [that] this would’ve been an unwritten music and an oral tradition transmitted from master to pupil,” Crawford said. COURTESY OF SYLVIA CRAWFORD With the last of the old harpers having passed away and the traditional teaching from master to pupil therefore unavailable, Crawford had to look to many historic sourc- es to understand and reconstruct the tradi- tion. It’s an ongoing process that she likens to painstakingly constructing a 1,000-piece Edward Bunting’s piano arrangement of “Limerick’s Lamentation,” which he collected from harpist jigsaw puzzle without a picture. Patrick Quin with the title “Lochaber,” as published in “A General Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland,” 1809, by Edward Bunting. Meeting the Harp COURTESY OF SYLVIA CRAWFORD Crawford first remembers seeing harps in her neighborhood in Portadown, Northern Ireland, when she was 6 or 7 years old. It was in the 1970s. One day, while playing in the street, she saw her neighbors taking harps from their car into their house. “That was my first encounter with harps, and in fact one of the men in that family was a harp maker,” she said. Many years later, she came across the same family, not on her street but in a vid- eo from the RTE (Ireland’s national pub- lic service media) archives, when she was studying for her master’s degree. “Inside the house was a room full of young pupils who were learning to play the harp: There was a lot of brown and orange ... [It was] very Musician Sylvia Crawford with her early Irish harp, which is based on the Castle Edward Bunting’s piano arrangement of “The Butterfly,” which he collected from harpist Patrick Quin, 1970s,” she said. Otway harp once owned by 18th-century Irish harpist Patrick Quin. as published in “A General Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland,” 1809, by Edward Bunting. It was in the late 1990s that Crawford heard the old Irish harp for the first time, in Galway on the west coast of Ireland. Master harper ing, she explained. One particular note has at the time, but she decided to move back idea of naming these very specific fingering Paul Dooley was playing the tune. two strings, so harpers could only orientate home to County Armagh, to focus on find- techniques,” she said. SIMON CHADWICK “He was a wonderful, wonderful player. ... themselves by sound. ing out as much as she could about Quin. As she read about oral traditions, she saw And I heard this sound, and I saw him sitting As an experienced fiddler, she knew that what Bunting had written about playing just quietly playing on the street busking; one of the things that makes the fiddle Learning From a Past Master techniques, which he had collected from that was very common in Galway in those sound Irish is the bowing technique. There Quin “was a real master of his art. One per- the harpers, in a different light. “I started days. There was something about the sound are many different styles and regional dif- son described how ‘he threw his fingers to realize that he’d given us a lot of this in- of that, I thought: This is different; this is ferences, Crawford explained, but the bow- across the strings with all the ability of a formation.” But because he did not play the a different sound than I’ve heard before,” ing—where it slurs into the beat—is one of master,’” Crawford said. harp himself—he was an organist, pianist, she said. the real distinctive features of the Irish fiddle Delving deeper into her research, Craw- and arranger—his published work had to be Dooley’s harp playing piqued Crawford’s sound. Celtic motifs are ford discovered that Quin was associated interpreted to be fully understood, and then interest in the instrument. As a classically She began to wonder if there wasn’t a simi- carved into Sylvia with the Fews, an area in South Armagh reconstructed or pieced together. trained pianist and a traditional Irish fid- larity between bowing on the fiddle and Crawford’s poplar harp. with a strong literary and poetic tradition. dler, Crawford was already well-versed in fingering on the harp, each giving the in- Traditionally, willow “So no longer was Patrick Quin just a harper Continuing the Old Tradition strument its Irish sound. would have been used from Portadown. He was connected to this Crawford stresses that there’s a lot more both the classical and traditional Irish music to make the early Irish heritages. harps, but large blocks really important Gaelic literary and musical still to be discovered about the early Irish “I was very much involved in the early mu- Meeting Patrick Quin of willow are now culture,” she said. harp. And each discovery is the result of sic scene in Galway and I was playing these Two people who helped Crawford learn harder to find. Among the tunes Bunting collected from experts working together on one another’s old Irish harp airs. And I was playing them more about the old Irish harp, including Quin were three of the first tunes tradition- research. Ultimately, Crawford feels a sense on my fiddle, and I was playing them on my the distinct fingering techniques, are from ally taught to young harpers. Bunting col- of responsibility to share what she’s found. piano, and I thought to myself: ‘I’d love to the 18th century: harper Patrick Quin and lected versions of those particular tunes “Any insights that I have, I really do want get one of those harps and play this music musician Edward Bunting. from various harpers, but Patrick Quin was other people to build on those in the future,” ... on the actual instrument it was composed Crawford was already familiar with the the only harper source for all three tunes. she said. for,’” she said. work of Bunting. But she “met” Quin around CRAWFORD SYLVIA OF COURTESY From the point of view of trying to recon- She’s currently writing a book about the six or seven years ago at the “Summer School struct a musical tradition, having that in- first tunes taught and the playing tech- Learning to Play the Old Irish Harp of the Early Irish Harp” run by The Historical formation was wonderful, Crawford said. niques of the early Irish harp, explaining The early Irish harp is a diatonic instrument Harp Society of Ireland, in Kilkenny, south- She also discovered an oil painting of Quin how she came to her conclusions and the with no mechanisms (levels or pedals) for east Ireland. It’s an annual event devoted to in a private collection; it was unknown be- importance of interpreting what Bunting changing the pitch. And apart from the the early Irish harp. fore. In the painting, Quin is vividly depicted wrote. She especially wants to draw atten- metal strings, it is basically made of three During one presentation, there was a slide playing the Castle Otway harp that is now tion to his work because “without him we parts: the sound box, the neck, and the pil- that showed Bunting’s handwritten piano owned by Trinity College Dublin. would have no possibility” of doing research lar. The harp is held together by the tension arrangement of a tune he’d collected from By closely looking at the painting, she and understanding the early Irish harp. of the metal strings. There’s no glue holding Quin, which is now held at Queen’s Univer- could see how Quin was seated quite low, “On a very personal level, it’s made me it together. In the old Irish harps, the sound sity Belfast. Edward Bunting in the and that he rested the Castle Otway harp on realize that I didn’t have to go to Galway box was carved out of one piece of wood, The university has a collection of Bun- “Annals of the Irish his left shoulder. The modern harp rests on looking for traditional music. I didn’t have to traditionally willow. ting’s notebooks from when he visited the Harpers,” 1911, by the right shoulder. She could also see that go to Brittany looking for traditional music. Charlotte Milligan Fox. “There’s a lot of strain on the construction, old harpers and recorded their music at he held the harp between his legs and how It was right on my road; it brought me back and you can see a lot of the old harps have the end of the 18th century. Crawford says he steadied it with his knees. home,” she said. big iron rods around them holding them it’s important to note that when Bunting What fascinated her the most in the paint- together where they’ve likely burst open was collecting this music, he was outside ing was Quin’s fingers. “You can see his left To find out more about Sylvia Crawford and from the middle because of the tension of of the Irish music tradition: He didn’t play hand’s fingers up on the strings and his right the old Irish harp, visit SylviaCrawford.net the strings,” Crawford said. the harp. He wasn’t a Gaelic speaker. Bun- hand low in that left-high, right-low posi-

In 2006, Crawford bought her first early ting’s purpose was not to preserve the harp JOHN M RODGERS/SHUTTERSTOCK tion that old harpers played. But you could Irish harp. She thought playing it wouldn’t tradition but to record the tunes before the see more information than that; you could be that different from playing the piano. last of the harpers died. see exactly the shape of his fingers on the Remembering She was wrong. She soon realized that the At the bottom of this particular slide, strings. And you could see his bass hand in Edward Bunting unique nature of the instrument made it Crawford noticed a note that said something this sort of spread-out shape with his fourth challenging to play. When one of the metal like Patrick Quin, County Armagh, near the finger extended,” she said. In celebration of St. Patrick’s strings is plucked, it rings and doesn’t stop, Blue Stone. “I thought, ‘I know exactly where At the time, Crawford had a simplified Day, March 17, the organizers of so when the next string is plucked, the two he’s talking about,’” she said. Crawford had copy of the Castle Otway harp on loan from the Remembering Bunting Festival, strings ring together. If a third string is grown up in that very area on a road called The Historical Harp Society of Ireland. She held in February, have extended plucked, then there’s a clash, she explained. the Drumnacanvy Road, which led to the was aware that the painting was not a reli- online access to the festival, which “This is much more challenging than it ap- Bluestone Road. able source because of its static nature and includes talks and performances Suddenly, Crawford could imagine Bun- because the artist could have used artistic from across the world. To access pears because I have to learn to control this The harp is synonymous the festival and to learn more about resonance,” she said. ting sitting down beside Quin, in one of the with Ireland in so many license. However, she combined what she Edward Bunting’s legacy, visit Crawford discovered some harpers who old cottages along that road—Bunting with ways. Here a wall plaque found from the painting with information RememberingBuntingFestival.com with harp on a shield

tried to play by borrowing from historical his notebook and Quin playing his tune. from a chapter in one of Bunting’s publica- SIMON CHADWICK harp technique and others who were adapt- “It suddenly came to life in my imagina- denotes an official tions (1840). When writing about how the ing modern harp technique. tion. But I also thought, ‘Nobody else knows government building harpers played, Bunting included a table of Although she learned to play the instru- where the Blue Stone is. I know because it in Ireland. tune fragments and showed exactly which ment from several people, she felt some- was up my road. He’s my harper. I need to fingers were used in each fragment. thing was not quite right. “I was playing focus on him,’” she said. As Crawford played the harp by relying these old laments and old Irish airs on an Although there was some research on on these discoveries, her fingers flowed into old instrument … but to me, it was outside Quin, there wasn’t that much known about what Bunting’s fragments described. of the world of traditional music,” she said. him, she said. Because traditional Irish music was oral, The Castle Otway harp in “The Irish and the Highland Harps,” 1904, by Robert Bruce Armstrong. One technique Crawford used when start- The more Crawford found out about Quin, she decided to study other oral music tradi- ing to learn was to color code the strings to the more she realized how her life, although tions. She learned that certain character- In 2020, musician Sylvia Crawford see what she was doing. But she soon re- centuries apart from his, mirrored aspects istics differ a great deal in oral and written led a workshop for The Historical alized that the old harpers wouldn’t have of his life. For example, Quin lived in Por- traditions. “For example, recurring motifs Harp Society of Ireland’s Early played the instrument that way; in fact, tadown in County Armagh, where Crawford are used in lots of different contexts, the idea Irish Harp Discovery Day at the Musician Sylvia Crawford thought playing the early Irish harp many of them were blind. And the harp it- grew up; both of them played the fiddle, and of being taught by rote and copying, the idea Remembering Bunting Festival, self doesn’t have any visual clues as to where of course both had the harp in common. of associating an aural sound with a move- in Belfast. wouldn’t be that different from playing the piano. She was wrong. the harper is in the instrument when play- Crawford was living in Brittany, France, ment or a hand or finger movement, and the B66 | ARTS & CULTURE TUESDAY, MARCHWeek 16, 11, 2021 TUESDAY,Week 11, 2021 MARCH 16, 2021 ARTS & CULTURE |B7 7

MARIE C. FIELDS/SHUTTERSTOCK PUBLIC DOMAIN ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF FOCUS FEATURES

In her diaries, letters, and works, Virginia Woolf A 1902 portrait of Virginia Woolf demonstrated her reverence for the truth. by George Charles Beresford. (Left) Edee Mathis (Robin Wright) attempts hunting deer, in “Land.” (Top right) Edee (Robin Wright) and Miguel (Demián Bichir) enjoy coffee and some FM-lite songs together. TRUTH TELLERS (Bottom right) Robin Wright as Edee Mathis learning to live off the land.

Virginia Woolf: ‘I always tell the truth’ Mark Jackson grew up in Spring Val- ley, N.Y., where he attended a Waldorf FILM INSIGHTS school. At Williams College, his pro- fessors all suggested he write pro- RAYMOND BEEGLE sky: the great clouds; & the moon which is see suffering, as if it were a fire, curling up fessionally. He acted professionally risen over Persia; I have a great & astonish- over the edges of all action, eating away the WITH MARK for 20 years instead. Now he irginia Woolf asks us—we ing sense of something there, which is ‘it.’ ? lives of men and women. He thought for writes professionally about hear her own voice, by way of ... I do fairly frequently come upon this ‘it’; the first time with understanding of words JACKSON acting. In the movies. a BBC recording—“How can and then feel quite at rest.” which had before seemed to him empty: we combine the old words in Later she writes, “I see before me: some- the struggle of life; the hardness of life.” new orders so that they sur- thing abstract; but residing in the downs In “The Waves,” love appears: “Time pass- Vvive, so that they create beauty, so that they or sky; beside which nothing matters; in es, yes. And we grow old. But to sit with tell the truth?” which I shall rest and continue to exist.” It you, alone with you, here in London, in (Left) Miguel (Demián Bichir), a hunter, checks up on Edee when he notices that her chimney This was Woolf’s life question, her life strikes one as remarkable that this marvel- this firelit room, you there, I here, is all. ... is no longer producing smoke. quest, the catalyst of her genius. She strug- ous writer, this brilliant poet, could find When you come, everything changes. The Healing Grief (Right) Robin Wright plays a woman who tries to outrun her grief. gled with it, like Jacob struggled with the no better word for this “something” than cups and saucers changed when you came angel, and she would not let go until the “it”! Yet, every one of us knows that this in this morning. There can be no doubt, ... Wild.” Those constitute the chosen-sol- and as much as Edee is stubbornly fix- true and the beautiful, in one way or an- “something” is beyond words, so perhaps that our mean lives, unsightly as they are, Through Living itude variation. There’s also the forced- ated on remaining cut off from everything other, blessed her. “When I write, I always, “it” is as good a name as any other. put on splendour and have meaning only solitude-by-happenstance variation, like and everyone, “Land” slowly segues into always tell the truth,” she admonished a under the eyes of love.” Tom Hanks in “Castaway” and James a two-character piece. She values the wil- friend who suggested that she might do One volume with Her Letters The intimation of a higher, transcen- Franco in “127 Hours.” derness survival lessons, but also, even- otherwise. In her letters, diaries, and fic- two years of Virginia One is struck by the author’s observation dent life is at the heart of “The Years.” A Off the Land Edee packs a few cans of beans, blithely tually, the camaraderie with its smidgen tion, the struggle never ends. Woolf’s letters. that an answer to a letter reflects some- woman returns to her friends after living drops her cellphone in the trash, and tells of warm banter. Like the fact that Miguel thing of the writer of the original letter that abroad for 30 years. They gather at a party, the craggy realtor to come back soon and hilariously has a completely random and Her Diaries she received. One can see, for example, and in its midst, she draws into herself: MARK JACKSON ‘Land’ please drive her car and U-Haul trailer incongruous playlist of FM-lite songs in Her diaries, comprising 6,873 pages in a the warmth and gentleness in her corre- “There must be another life, she thought. the heck outta here, despite his vehement his head, and knows all the words to Tears Harcourt Brace Jovanovich edition, tell us spondence with her sister, Vanessa, and a … Not in dreams, but here and now in this D i r e c t o r Anticipating an encroaching Zombie Robin Wright protestations that one should not be up for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the her most intimate thoughts and feelings. cooler persona in her letters to the glacial room, with living people. ... She was about Apocalypse in my 20s, I started tak- high in the Wyoming Rockies (the film World.” These pages were not meant for our eyes, and proud Vita Sackville-West. to grasp something that just evaded her. ing classes in primitive skills at Tom Starring was shot in Alberta) without a vehicle. When Edee is informed that a six-foot- and she asked her husband to burn them The letter to Sackville-West quoted below There must be another life, here and now, Brown Jr.’s Tracking, Nature, and Wilder- Robin Wright, She’s got zero wilderness survival expe- high tree stump is the work of beavers, Demián Bichir, after her death. They perhaps contain the is a penetrating view into Woolf’s creative she repeated. This is too short, too broken. ness Survival School at the now defunct Kim Dickens, rience or primitive homesteading skills. she asks if there are beavers around that farthest reaches of her mind, and some of process, something too personal to be said We know nothing, even about ourselves. Tracker Farm in Asbury, New Jersey. Sarah Dawn Pledge She’s clearly thinking, “How hard could stand that tall on their hind feet. Miguel her most beautiful phrases, as well as her to the public but easily said to an under- We’re only just beginning, she thought, to We built leaf huts, learned fire-making it be?” I started cowering inwardly, like at answers that there’s at least four feet of Rated candid, private views of contemporaries. standing and trusted friend: understand here and there.” with bow and hand drills (in a rainstorm), PG-13 the beginning of a horror movie. frozen snow on the ground when the bea- She was scandalized, for example, at the “Style is a very simple matter; it is all “To the Lighthouse” is a melancholy nar- how to stalk and track animals, and set vers chew these big trees down. success of James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” which rhythm. Once you get that, you can’t get rative of the Ramsey family, a family in the figure-4 deadfall traps. Tom Brown, Running Time Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire When Edee queries, “Why did you help she found to be a celebration of the ugly, a the wrong words. ... Now this is very pro- face of change. Time passes; things, people, America’s master tracker, further taught 1 hour, 29 minutes Sure enough, there’s scary animal sounds me?” Miguel responds, “You were in my unilateral attack on the literary tradition found, what rhythm is, and goes far deeper mysteriously become other things. A child various primitive fishing methods, rab- Release Date in the night, food supplies quickly dwin- path.” Miguel has his reasons, and we she revered: “An illiterate, underbred book than any words. A sight, an emotion, cre- becomes a man, a mother dies, a way of life bit-stick and atlatl throwing, and edible Feb. 12 dling, the immensely labor-intensive eventually learn what they are, but all it seems to me. ... It is brackish. It is preten- ates this wave in the mind long before it that seemed fixed is swept away. The great plant, bark, and mushroom identification. procuring of wood to heat the drafty I’ll say about that is—while Edee’s escap- tious. ... A first rate writer, I mean, respects makes words to fit it; and in writing one life question “to what end?” is constantly He also taught introduction to Native- cabin, and getting cornered in the rick- ing to solitude for comfort initially only writing too much to be tricky; startling; has to recapture this, and then as it breaks in our ears. An answer, not complete, not American spirituality in the form of sweat ety outhouse in severe cold, sans pants, brought her more pain, Miguel’s helping doing stunts.” and tumbles in the mind it makes words entirely satisfactory, but perhaps the only lodges and vision quests. by a bad-mood bear. Said bear then sees her find new life helps him find peace. A close friend told her, “Only your death Two volumes of Vir- to fit it.” answer we have, is given. It seems to be But when Y2K didn’t happen, I relaxed her cabin door standing wide open and will be the one thing you will be unable ginia Woolf’s diary. These words illumine us, tell us more that time, indeed, passes. We can hold on my survival prepping and started focus- commits major food-foraging mayhem. to describe!” True, of course, but she does about the depths of Woolf’s heart and mind to nothing; yet, still, something remains: ing on the spiritual stuff instead. But that’s Edee soon realizes that her plan is not describe, as no one else has done, the de- than we can find in any formal publication. An entire life of thoughts, feelings, and a different story for a different movie. working. She’s a survivalist pression that often seems to attend genius. experiences is synthesized, translated, Why did she have this plan in the first Tolstoy, Handel, and Beethoven knew it Her Shorter Fiction transubstantiated, stored in our brain as ‘Land’ place? To numb severe pain: Her Chicago neophyte, and we endure well but left no detailed account of it. The shorter works—sometimes very short, our own ever-unfolding vision. It is our own Robin Wright, best known as Jenny life came to a screeching halt after losing Virginia Woolf did: “Woke up perhaps but never about trivial things—address the personal view of the world, of the scheme in “Forrest Gump,” Buttercup in “The her son and husband. She’s grief-stricken quite a bit of suffering at 3. Oh its beginning it coming—the hor- issues that loom large in the life of every of things, which no one in all time has wit- Princess Bride,” and Sean Penn’s ex- and suicidal, so her sister (Kim Dickens) with her. ror—physically like a painful wave swelling person, the wonder of life itself. How easy nessed before, and which no one in all time wife, makes her directorial debut with pleads that Edee not hurt herself. Edee about the heart—tossing me up. I’m un- Her letters it is for us to forget the sheer unlikelihood will witness in the future. It is our own. “Land,” directing herself playing Edee heads for the hills anyway. happy unhappy! Down—God, I wish I were contain the farthest of our existence, the infinite confluence of Genius is occasionally able to immor- Mathis, a woman getting away from it all Granted, the nonstop foraging, fishing, “Land” is somewhat similar to the re- dead. … This goes on; several times, with reaches of her mind, events that make up our circumstances as talize and share its vision through songs, by retreating to a log cabin in the remote hunting, trapping, building, prepping, cent “Nomadland” in that both are about varieties of horror. Then at the crisis instead and some of her well as what we call our “selves.” paintings, words, through beauty and wilderness. planting, harvesting, repairing, and women who get away from it all, one on a of the pain remaining intense, it becomes most beautiful “In the Orchard,” a story of only five para- truth. “How can we combine the old words To preface, this is a well-worn genre: chop-wood-carry-water involved in liv- mountaintop and the other in a van. But rather vague. I doze. I wake with a start.” phrases. graphs, reveals Miranda sleeping beneath in new orders so that they survive, so that the getting-away-from-it-all quest for ing off the land will focus the mind—but if whereas “Nomadland” has a bleak, deso- Other entries tell us of her search for the an apple tree. “Apples hung four feet above they create beauty, so that they tell the solitude movie, the grandfather of which you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re late tone, “Land”—by featuring stunning thing that so many of us pray to: “I enjoy her head. The sound of the church organ truth?” we again hear Virginia Woolf ask, is perhaps Robert Redford in “Jeremiah quickly out of the frying pan and into the Rocky Mountain landscapes, turquoise almost everything. Yet I have some restless is carried over the tree tops by the wind on the BBC. It is a question, but to her it was Johnson” and more recently in “All Is fire in terms of tribulations. rivers, pristine woodlands, and pink- searcher in me. ... I see the mountains in the while Miranda sleeps thirty feet below.” a calling as well. Lost.” There’s also Reese Witherspoon Suffice it to say, it’s beyond her. Although orange sunrises and sunsets—harbors PUBLIC DOMAIN Two hundred feet above her, “bells thud- The closing lines of “To the Lighthouse” in “Wild,” and Emile Hirsch in “Into the Robin Wright might have the strong fea- a strong center of hope. This is strength- ded” calling the faithful to service. The are not really about the amateur painter tures of an American frontierswoman ened by plentiful and soothing birdsong, wind swept on, “eyeless, brainless, meeting Lilly Briscoe; they are about the writer Vir- of old, her character’s a survivalist neo- whistling elk calls, and a soundtrack nothing that could stand against it” while ginia Woolf: “She drew a line in the cen- phyte, and we endure quite a bit of suf- very similar to the muted string, gui- “miles below, in a space as big as the eye of ter. It was done; it was finished. Yes, she fering with her. tar, and banjo-laden folk band Horse a needle, Miranda stood upright and cried thought, laying down her brush, … I have Starving and emotionally destroyed, Feathers. aloud. ‘Oh, I shall be late for tea!’” had my vision.” Edee is found and rescued last minute It’s initially a difficult, painful journey. by local outdoorsman and hunter Miguel But ultimately Edee reaches the state that Her Novels Raymond Beegle has performed as a (Demián Bichir) and Alawa, a nurse (Sar- Tom Brown Jr. spoke of, which is that you As memory is a reliable critic, it is employed collaborative pianist in the major con- ah Dawn Pledge). want to get all your hunting, tracking, and here to recall some of the best passages cert halls of the United States, Europe, Alawa suspects that Edee, who consis- survival techniques to be second nature of her novels, fragments that entered and and South America; has written for The tently refuses hospital treatment and is so you can waste little time getting to the never left my mind. The subjects are deep, Quarterly, Classical Voice, Fanfare vehemently closed-mouthed about her good stuff: the spiritual stuff. and the impressions are powerful. Magazine, Classic Record Collector (UK), affairs, might be a fugitive from the law. Edee gets to the spiritual stuff. Which is In “The Voyage Out,” the young man and the New York Observer. Beegle has Miguel offers to teach Edee primitive letting go her attachments to the internet, learns the bitterness of loss; the woman served on the faculty of The State Univer- skills if she’s up to it, to which Edee re- phone, computer, to the state of being hy- he is to marry becomes fatally ill. “He could sity of New York–Stony Brook, The Music luctantly agrees, but with the condition peraware of the healing beauty and peace not get used to his pain, it was a revelation Academy of the West, and The American that Miguel tell her absolutely no news around her, and finally pinning photos of to him. He had never realised before that Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, from the outside world. a painful past in a cabin-wall collage to Young Virginia Woolfe underneath every action, underneath the Austria. He has taught in the chamber be celebrated. (nee Stephen) and her life of every day, pain lies, quiescent, but music division of The Manhattan School Out of the Fire, Like a Phoenix Looking forward to seeing more from older sister Vanessa. ready to devour; he seemed to be able to of Music for the past 28 years. Robin Wright in her directorial debut, of “Land.” There’s an immediate platonic chemistry, this newly minted director. B88 | ARTS & CULTURE WEDNESDAY, MARCHWeek 17, 11, 20212021 WEDNESDAY,Week 11, 2021 MARCH 17, 2021 ARTS & CULTURE |B9 9

PuBLIC DoMAIN Courtesy of MICHAeL KureK FILM ‘Little Nellie Kelly’: A Great Day for the Irish

PuBLIC DoMAIN Tiffany Brannan

t. Patrick’s Day, and the whole month of March by extension, is dedicated to celebrating all things Irish. However, many complain that American celebrations of “St. SPaddy’s” Day are primarily cheap com- mercialism, ignoring Ireland’s tradition- al, genuine culture. Even “Plastic Paddy” (Above) A film score demonstrating the musical celebrations, though, are few in 2021. Af- idea (L) created by the composer and the fleshed out arrangement composed by the orchestrator. ter claiming St. Patrick’s Day as its first canceled event, the ongoing pandemic is (Left) With the rise of composer Bernard Her- dampening the popular March holiday for rmann, film compositions changed. Here he is the second year. ’s famous pictured conducting the orchestra in a scene St. Patrick’s Day parade was canceled in from the trailer of director Alfred Hitchcock’s 2020, and the 260th year will be virtual “the Man Who Knew too Much” (1956). on this 17th. Whether you normally celebrate at home or in public, St. Patrick’s Day is about much MUSIC more than drinking green beer. It’s an op- portunity to appreciate the influence that Irish immigrants have had on America’s history, especially in the late 19th and early When Does ‘Classic Film Music’ 20th centuries. You can celebrate by watch- ing a movie from the era when Hibernians, the traditional Latin name for the Irish, Become ‘Classical Music,’ or Can It? reigned supreme in Hollywood: the 1930s– 1950s. For this St. Patrick’s Day, we recom- PuBLIC DoMAIN mend MGM’s charming Irish-American Michael KureK in one key, while a symphonic movement are assembled into a “suite” or medley of musical from 1940, “Little Nellie Kelly.” in sonata form may have a vast outline, excerpts. Such suites are also common in In recent years, as symphony orchestras weaving themes and developments of the concert hall from ballets and , ‘Little Nellie Kelly’ have struggled to remain in the black, themes through many keys to a musical though. Stubborn Irishman Michael Noonan they have adopted increasingly innova- climax. When classical music is brought into (Charles Winninger) dearly loves his young tive programming to sell tickets. One Also, an obvious difference is that film a film, then the reverse is done: It gets daughter, Nellie (Judy Garland), but hates way to do that has been to increase the music requires collaboration between chopped up into shorter cues, and working almost more. He is furious when number of better-attended pops concerts the composer and the filmmaker, in the original new underscoring is added she decides to marry local boy Jerry Kelly and decrease the number of classical sense that film music must “obey” what where needed. At that point, it might be (George Murphy). When the couple emi- concerts during their season. Even in is on screen, or be compatible with it, speculated that it ceases to be a classi- grate to America soon after the wedding, he the classical concerts, they have taken moment by moment. A classical work cal composition in that form, but rather grudgingly accompanies them, still refus- “Little Nellie Kelly” was I Love You,” appear in this movie. “Singin’ to the lyrics of Thomas Moore’s “We May to playing suites of film music excerpts, is autonomous and its own master, in makes reference to the original classical ing to speak to his son-in-law. not only a vehicle for Judy in the Rain” was added as another solo for Roam Through This World”: which used to be performed only in the terms of content. piece from which it was taken. In New York City, Jerry studies to become Garland but also for the Irish. Garland. pops concerts. Often, these have taken Finally, and as an arguable general- a policeman, but Mike refuses to seek em- The Irish celebration reaches its pinnacle “In England, the garden of beauty is kept the place of the concert’s “new music” Hidden Differences Between ization, much film music seems to be ployment. When the couple’s first baby is with New York City’s famous St. Patrick’s By a dragon of prudery placed within call; slot, formerly reserved for often disso- Film Music and Classical Music purposely derivative of a particular born, Nellie dies in labor. Jerry and Mike Day parade. Capt. Jerry Kelly walks in the But so oft this unamiable dragon has slept, nant contemporary pieces. If I’m not mistaken, not everyone realizes classical source. For example, one mo- must raise little Nellie together, but the parade with other policemen, and Mike, That the garden’s but carelessly watch’d after all. While leading pre-concert discus- that almost all film composers work with ment in the “Star Wars” score is al- father-in-law remains hostile. Tim, and Dennis Fogarty also march. Lit- sions, I have frequently been asked by an one or more orchestrators, so the music most identical to one in Holst’s “Mars” Years later, Nellie (again Judy Garland) is tle Nellie joins the festivities, much to her “Oh! they want the wild sweet-briery fence audience member something like this: itself is actually a collaboration between movement from “The Planets.” It can a grown-up girl, the image of her mother. grandfather’s displeasure. While marching Which round the flowers of Erin dwells; “Isn’t film music really the new classical them. While a classical composer is be argued that much classical music is She gains the admiration of young Den- ‘It’s a Great Day along, she sings the memorable “It’s a Great Which warns the touch, while winning the sense, music?” It seems a reasonable question, personally responsible for creating a also derivative of other classical pieces, nis Fogarty (Douglas McPhail), the son of Day for the Irish,” which Roger Edens wrote Nor charms us least when it most repels…. given that fewer people than ever in the finished, written conductor’s score with though perhaps more often accidentally Mike’s friend Timothy (Arthur Shields). for the Irish’ for the film. populace as a whole even know that the every note for every instrument on it, or less obviously. Although her father is delighted, her grand- One of very few songs specifically about “In France, when the heart of a woman sets sail, so-called contemporary, “academic” film composers usually create only a father is just as disagreeable about her ro- showcases Judy St. Patrick’s Day, “It’s a Great Day for the On the ocean of wedlock its fortune to try, erich Korngold’s composition for “Adventures genre of classical music even exists. piano sketch, or a “short score” of a few The Marriage of Film of robin Hood” is ranked 11th by the Ameri- mance as he was about her mother’s. Little Garland’s pop- Irish” showcases Judy Garland’s popular Love seldom goes far in a vessel so frail, It also seems reasonable because so staff lines, and hand it over to an orches- and Classical Music can film Institute as one of the greatest of film Nellie loves her father, her grandfather, and vocals as well as Douglas McPhail’s clas- But just pilots her off, and then bids her good-bye. much film music has long endured and trator. The orchestrator is sometimes not Perhaps the lines between the two scores. But is it classical music or a different possibly Dennis, so she determines to bring ular vocals as sical singing. This tune is a lovely tribute to is loved. It is often written for the same credited on screen at all, or is listed in genres were most genuinely blurred by genre entirely? them all together. well as Douglas New York’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, com- “While the daughters of Erin keep the boy, orchestral instrumentation as many the “fine print,” somewhere among the the very successful classical composer For St. Patrick’s Day plete with a comical, tongue-twisting list- Ever smiling beside his faithful oar, classical pieces and in a late Romantic hundreds of names that scroll by at the Austrian-born Erich Wolfgang Korngold This movie is appropriate for St. Patrick’s McPhail’s classi- ing of Irish surnames. Through billows of woe, and beams of joy, style, influenced by classical composers end of the film. (1897–1957), whose classical works were Day from start to finish. The opening cred- The same as he looked when he left the shore.” like Richard Wagner or Gustav Holst. John Williams, for example, has long performed worldwide, including at New its roll to standard Irish tunes with sham- cal singing. The Values of Erin However, there are also some crucial worked with an orchestrator named York’s . Korngold rocks and Celtic harps as background art. Irish themes and characters were common England’s “dragon of prudery” is like a cen- differences between film and classical Conrad Pope, who created the full scores was invited to Hollywood in 1934 to NAtIoNAL PortrAIt GALLery, sMItHsoNIAN INstItutIoN The first scenes take place in Ireland, and in Golden Age films. This is hardly acci- sor board, which artlessly butchered pre- music, from which to argue that they are for such films as the “Star Wars” prequel rework classical composer Felix Men- even after the story moves to New York, all dental. Filmmakers intended this frequent Code films (1930–1934), ruining their sto- fundamentally different genres. That is trilogy, the “Indiana Jones” films, and delssohn’s music for a film adaptation the main characters are Irish and played by representation of Emerald Isle descendants ries without improving their moral content. not to imply that one might be better or the “Harry Potter” films. However, John of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Irish actors, often with noticeable brogues. as tribute to one of Hollywood’s most pow- France’s “vessel so frail” could be the mod- worse than the other, only that it is more Williams is known as a composer who Dream.” With the rise of Hitler at that Irish folk songs play a key part in this mu- Courtesy of tIffANy BrANNAN erful people. If you’re trying to remember ern Classification and Rating Administra- of an apples-versus-oranges comparison includes in his sketches a great num- time, the Jewish Korngold decided to sical’s score. Nellie Noonan often sings “St. whether Louis B. Mayer or Samuel Gold- tion, which merely categorizes finished than some people may realize. ber of detailed prose notes about what stay in Hollywood, where he became a Patrick Was a Gentle Man,” a traditional wyn was Irish, don’t bother. films instead of guiding them throughout instruments should play what parts, for pioneer film composer, scoring a total of folk song about Ireland’s patron saint, both The person to whom I am referring was production. Only the Code, like Ireland’s the orchestrator just to flesh out on the 16 films. before and after leaving the Emerald Isle. neither a mogul nor any other studio em- “sweet-briery fence,” charmed while doing large score. Williams, in a sense, both In those early films, Korngold went on She also sings Roger Edens’s arrangement ployee. He was the head of the Produc- its job, since it made entertaining films that composes and arranges the music, only writing his classical compositions for of the traditional “A Pretty Girl Milking Her tion Code Administration (PCA), the were appropriate for all ages. Simply in terms of in a condensed version. movies like “The Adventures of Robin Cow.” Later, her daughter sings a swing Hollywood branch of the Motion Picture However, many other composers Hood” (1938) with Errol Flynn and Olivia rendition of the song. Producers and Distributors of America Vintage Irish Charm length, film music may provide far less to the orchestrator, so de Havilland, and without bothering to “Little Nellie Kelly” was originally a 1922 (MPPDA), later called the Motion Picture If you love entertainment from Hollywood’s be likened to a collection the orchestrator really must also become shorten it into cues. In those early days Broadway musical written by George M. Association of America. This organization, yesteryear, explore the vast world of old the arranger of the music, composing of film, music was often playing almost Cohan. In typical Hollywood fashion, the independent of any studio, religion, or po- movies! They offer charm, music, heart- of poems, while a things like countermelodies and accom- continually as a classical piece and, movie adaption featured a significantly al- litical affiliation, self-regulated American warming stories, wholesome romances, classical symphony is paniment figures not supplied by the sometimes to its detriment, would just be tered story and retained little of the original film content for decades. While Will Hays, and genuine portrayals of family. “Little composer. This is a much more signifi- turned down lower when dialog required music. Only two songs from the original MPPDA president during 1922–1945, is Nellie Kelly” is a beautiful example of all more like a novel. cant creative role, as may be evident in it to be. Later, especially with the rise score, “Nellie Is a Darling” and “Nellie Kelly generally associated with this organiza- these attributes. It shows a young woman the accompanying illustration. On the of film composer Bernard Herrmann tion, Joseph I. Breen deserves the credit who is torn between her love for her father PuBLIC DoMAIN left, from an actual film (which shall (1911–1975), for example, with his 1958 erich Wolfgang Korngold, 1934–35. the photo (Above) Joseph I. Breen in for film decency. and her love for her husband. A generation Differences of Length, remain nameless), is what the composer score for “Vertigo,” the modern method is a gift from the Musical America Archives. the 1950s, working at the The PCA was called the Breen Office for later, her daughter faces the same dilemma Form, and Purpose provided to the orchestrator: just a tune of shorter cues was born. Production Code Adminis- the two decades when Irishman Joe Breen with her grandfather, the same stubborn The most obvious difference between with chords. And on the right are the In recent years, some of Korngold’s film tration. ran it (1934–1954). He ensured that all films Irishman, in fact. film music and classical music, with same measures done by the orchestra- music has been recorded and performed complied with the Motion Picture Produc- This movie teaches the value of American some exceptions, is that film music must tor on the finished conductor’s score. It in the concert hall as fully classical mu- (Left) MGM’s supplied 1940 tion Code, guidelines for inoffensive movie citizenship, work’s importance, and how photos of Judy Garland for be parsed into short “cues,” being fre- would seem fair, if such a score were ever sic—a marriage of two worlds, indeed. the Argentine magazine content. Although commonly called the love, no matter how sincere, can be mis- quently interrupted by dialog or a com- to enter the canon of classical music, to Cinelandia. Hays Code, publisher Martin J. Quigley guided if it allows someone’s bad behavior plete change of scene or mood on screen. credit the name of the orchestrator as a American composer Michael Kurek is the and Father Daniel A. Lord, not politician to continue. Simply in terms of length, film music co-creator. author of the recently released book “The Will Hays, penned the famous document. This St. Patrick’s Day, elevate your celebra- may be likened to a collection of poems, Another fundamental difference be- Sound of Beauty: A Composer on Music Like a lovable Irish constable in an old tion by viewing this classic. Whether you’re For more while a classical symphony is more like a tween film music and classical music is in the Spiritual Life” and the composer of arts and culture movie, Joe Breen was a public servant with Irish or not, this movie will leave you doing novel. No one can say that the novel as a that film music almost always contains the recent Billboard No. 1 classical album articles, visit a club and a smile. He quickly befriended a jig while singing, “It’s a great, great day!” genre is “better” than poetry as a genre, what is called “underscoring,” music of “The Sea Knows.” The winner of numerous Hollywood folks, who realized he had their just different. an ambient nature to be played while composition awards, including the presti- TheEpochTimes. best interest at heart. They hoped to appeal Tiffany Brannan is a 19-year-old opera However, the literary analogy to music actors are speaking in the foreground, gious Academy Award in Music from the com to Irish-American Breen’s love of country singer, Hollywood history/vintage beau- also holds in terms of form and structure. to set a mood. However, every moment American Academy of Arts and Letters, by making Hibernian-themed movies. This ty copywriter, travel writer, film blogger, A sonnet, for example, may have a form of a classical composition is on center he has served on the Nominations Com- may have charmed him, but it never made and ballet writer. In 2016, she and her sis- of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, stage, must command the listener’s mittee of the Recording Academy for the him lower PCA standards! ter founded the Pure Entertainment Pres- while a novel may require a vast outline interest, and move the musical “plot” classical Grammy Awards. He is a profes- The uniquely strong but flexible moral ervation Society, an organization dedi- weaving many elements into a climax forward. When film music is brought sor emeritus of composition at Vanderbilt values that Messrs. Quigley and Breen in- cated to reforming the arts by reinstating near the end. A film cue may, typically, to the concert hall, the underscoring is University. For more information and stilled in American films are comparable the Motion Picture Production Code. have one or two statements of a melody omitted and only the memorable parts music, visit MichaelKurek.com B810 | ARTS & CULTURE TUESDAY, MARCHWeek 16, 11, 2021

PoPcorn and InsPIratIon A True Journey of Self-Discovery and Accomplishing Dreams ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF SONY PICTURES TELEVISION Ian Kane money, moves the boys from their Detroit tenement into a house close to a prestigious s my review of “The Ron Clark Sto- high school. She figures that having her ry” just last week revealed, inspira- boys attend the school is their best shot at tional films based on real people breaking the chains of poverty. are much more effective. They But things take a dark turn when Ben’s are a lens into exceptional lives anger rears its ugly head again: One of Athat we can all learn from, no matter what his friends taunts him, and Ben stabs his our own hindrances and backgrounds. buddy with a knife. Miraculously, the blade Director Thomas Carter’s (“Coach Cart- hits the boy’s metal belt buckle and snaps er,” 2005; “Save the Last Dance,” 2001) in half. Shocked by his own violence, Ben “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story” is a runs home, locks himself in his bedroom, biopic based on the incredible life of neu- hits his knees, and prays to God to remove rosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson. his volatile temper. The film certainly didn’t begin as I’d as- Ben manages to earn a full scholarship sumed it would. Ben overcame quite a few to Yale University, where he also attends challenges in his younger life; it is during medical school. He meets his perfect coun- these times that the film is most interesting. (Above) Cuba Gooding Jr. as terpart and future wife, Candy (Aunjanue Ben Carson in the inspiring Ben’s father abandoned his family when biopic “Gifted Hands.” Ellis), who’s brilliant in her own right. Ben Ben was just a young boy (played by Jaishon reveals to her that he is struggling to keep Fisher and later Gus Hoffman as a youth). (Left) Ben Carson (Cuba up with his classes. But Candy figures out a His mother, Sonya (Kimberly Elise, “The Gooding Jr.) is aided by his workaround for Ben’s obstacles in the form Manchurian Candidate,” 2004), is raising wife (Aunjanue Ellis) in his of cue cards, since he has such a tremen- Ben and his brother, Curtis (Tajh Bellow), medical studies. dous reading memory. From there, Ben as best she can. becomes a pediatric neurosurgeon and goes on to achieve many great things.

he comes out swinging and slugs one of ‘Gifted Hands: The Ben Casting Does the Job ‘Gifted Hands: The Ben his tormentors. It is here that we see Ben’s Carson Story’ Just as with “The Ron Clark Story,” this film anger issues. director benefited from shrewd casting. Gooding Jr. Carson Story’ is a well- Sonya soon discovers that Ben has vision Thomas Carter is convincing as the college-aged, and later, acted and well-directed problems and buys him a pair of glasses, starring Dr. Ben Carson. As well, Elise is great as his enabling him to boost his grades. But his Cuba Gooding Jr., Kimberly ever-supportive mother who sees past their biopic that shows what real turning point occurs when he attends Elise, Aunjanue Ellis dire circumstances. church one Sunday, and as the pastor gives running time Ellis is very capable in the few scenes she’s people can achieve a fiery sermon, Ben’s imagination takes off: 1 hour, 26 minutes in, but since most of the movie takes place despite difficulties. He is inspired to become a doctor. not rated during Ben’s childhood years in the 1960s, Although poor, Sonya is rich in her belief we don’t see much of her. I have to say that release date in her sons. With a hefty number of pep Feb. 7, 2009 (TV movie) both Jaishon Fisher and Gus Hoffman are Sonya, a housemaid, is not only illiter- talks (as well as some good old-fashioned exceptional in portraying Ben as a young ate but also struggles with mental illness. discipline), Sonya inspires her boys to read boy and teen, respectively. A good-hearted, God-fearing woman, she as many books as they can get their hands Overall, “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson takes her boys to church often and instills in on. Soon, Ben and Curtis are answering Story” is a well-acted and well-directed them the values of hard work and discipline. “Jeopardy” show questions before any of biopic that shows what people can achieve But there’s a problem: Ben has his own the TV contestants. despite difficulties. Through his faith in struggles in the form of learning dis- Due to Ben’s voracious appetite for learn- God, his ferocious intellect, and his moth- abilities. He’s behind in his classes and ing, a science teacher notices the youth’s er’s indefatigable belief in him, Ben was frequently receives F grades on assign- intellect and shows him organisms under Ian Kane is a filmmaker able to overcome early handicaps and go ments. Because of this, as well as being one a microscope. From there, Ben moves from and author based out on to a formidable future. At the same time, of the few black kids at the school, Ben is strength to strength, letting his mind ab- of . To learn it also reminds us that if talents go unrec- frequently bullied by his classmates. On sorb as it can. more, visit DreamFlight- ognized, some children may never live up one occasion, as he is relentlessly taunted, A few years later, Sonya, having saved Ent.com to their potential.

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