Dan's Papers - October 10, 2008

Movies about bands and musicians and musicals are a dime a dozen, but, in some movies, the role music plays is entirely different, taking on a life of its own, becoming a character in the film.

One such film, The Guitar, will be featured in this year's Hamptons International Film Festival. The Guitar is the story of Melody, (Saffron Burrows) who is diagnosed with a terminal illness. With nothing to lose when she's told she only has two months to live, she abandons her old life, empties her bank account and racks up credit card debt to move into a spacious Village apartment. She also decides to pursue a lifelong dream of hers: to learn how to play the guitar. The result is a life-changing transformation, with the guitar and her lifelong desire to play music leading her on her spiritual and creative journey.

Of course, between now and the film festival, you can always run to the video store if you're interested in catching a film where music plays a integral role in the story and isn't a biopic of a musician.

You might want to check out The Red Violin, a powerful film that takes place in five countries, spanning three centuries, following the lives of all those who own a special red violin, which has a direct influence, for better or worse, on each of its owners' lives.

The Piano tells the tale of a mute Scottish woman, Ada, who expresses herself by playing the piano. Finding herself in New Zealand due to an arranged marriage to a man she doesn't love, when her husband sells her piano to a local, she aims to get it back and becomes entangled in a love affair. Throughout the movie, the piano itself plays a pivotal role in the plot, serving as an impetus for many key moments.

There's also Mr. Holland's Opus, starring Richard Dreyfuss as composer Glenn Holland, who takes on a job as a high school music teacher to pay the bills. The movie spans the 30-year teaching career of Holland, set against the backdrop of some of America's most important historical moments. Music is a constant theme in the movie, as Holland learns how to connect with his students and love his job as a teacher, while still reaching for his dream of being a composer.

High Fidelity, based on the novel by Nick Hornby and starring John Cusack as a record store owner, music snob extraordinaire and geeky audiophile, is a funny, and often self-deprecating, look at the role contemporary music can play in a person's life. As Cusack's character explores his past relationships to see why his most current one is going wrong, he obsesses over music, and, naturally, the art of the mix tape makes an appearance or two. Jack Black also stars in this film as an employee at the record store and wannabe rock star.

If you're looking for something even more lighthearted, then check out The School of Rock, another Black film, where he yet again stars as a wannabe rock star, who, this time, discovers a love of teaching kids music after he fakes his way into a substitute teaching job to make some money. Sure, it's mostly just a fun movie, but it also deals with musical discovery, as Black's character sets out to turn his class into a rock band.

You can catch The Guitar, which also features Janeane Garofalo, on Oct. 18 at 6:30 p.m. in Southampton as part of the Hamptons International Film Festival. For more information on The Guitar and other films at the Hamptons International Film Festival, go to www.hamptonsfilmfest.org.