Quinzaine des Réalisateurs review - SONGS MY BROTHERS TAUGHT ME by Chloé Zhao

An empoverished and neglected place can also be a beautiful place. Chloe Zhao's feature directorial debut Songs My Brothers Taught Me was features in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs section of the 68th Cannes Film Festival.

 

Pine Ridge is a vast region in South Dakota plagued by poverty and alcoholism. It is also Johnny's homeland, a young man who is fixing to leave it to follow his girlfriend in LA. The only things that holds him back is the sudden death of his father, and most importantly, his love for his 13 year old sister, Jashuan. More than representing a strong bond between siblings, Johnny and Jashuan symbolise the hope for the future that rests on the new generations, and the crucial life choices they are forced to make. Some choose the criminal way, some choose the honest way, and some take the highway.

 

First and foremost, it is plain to see that filmmaker Chloe Zhao has a very true passion for the beauty of Pine Ridge - the cinematography really treasures the glory of its characteristic landscapes and its vastness that recalls old Americana westerns. She is equally as willing to use a realistic approach, not least of all through techniques such as street casting, handheld cinematography and a fair share of improvisation. But she is not sensationalising a social message, which is something that plagues other films of the same kind that are prominently featured on the festival circuit.

 

Songs My Brothers Taught me is a tribute to the setting but also its inhabitants. It is a tasteful representation of the modern Native American society, a rare feat in contemporary cinema. But it is also careful of representing individuals and tribute them for their distinctive characteristics, which is also successful because of the radically different people that we meet in the course of the film - the cowboy, the hip hop guy, the working man, the gangster - all of whom are brought together as brothers, an unusual and yet charmingly original narrative element.

 

Such warmth is affecting also because of the admirable performance by John Reddy as the leading character and Jashuan St. John, as his sister, in the leading role. In a most excellent testimony of how street casting can work so well, the chemistry between them is full of credible heart warming sibling love, which makes it very easy to sympathise with them when things don't go their way.

 

Initially, the narrative may seem a little unoriginal. Which is why Zhao's choice to draw the viewer in through atmospheric awareness more tnan strict narrative focus is so ultimately rewarding in the progression of audience connection with not only the leading characters, but also the supporting characters, and purposefully leaves some grey areas and some questions unanswered. This also works in making Songs My Brothers Taught Me more interactive and universal than could initially appear.