The Job of Songs – Review
74 Minutes, Not Rated
Directed by Lila Schmitz
**NOTE: this post may be updated with audio once we actually have the chance to talk about it. Until then, you can read Mark’s review below. Remember, though, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**
Synopsis:
In Doolin, an isolated village teetering on the western edge of Ireland, a community of musicians seek joy and connection through music as they face a modernizing world.
On the coast of Ireland lies a quaint little hamlet named Doolin, which, like the rest of Ireland, has a rich tradition of music going back hundreds of years. Doolin, however, has become a sort of cradle of Irish music, with locals having become famous, and now-famous musicians having come there to learn their chops and pay their musical dues before becoming well-known.
A history lesson for music buffs, The Job of Songs takes us back to the time when music was played in people’s homes, door swung wide open as strangers would come in, join in whatever music was happening, perhaps have a meal or a drink, then depart.
This tradition persists in the pub (public house) culture, where “sessions” occur almost daily, with an ever-changing mix of players and singers taking part as they can.
Some move on to bigger and better (well, at least bigger) things, while some toil slavishly away at normal jobs, content to play session after session, doing their part to keep the tradition of playing and passing down of ancestral music central to their lives (and the lives of all Irishmen) and reminds us all of the importance of music as a cultural and historical force.
Society after society have depended on music to pass down their stories; the Iliad and the Odyssey were carried and sung by bards for hundreds of years before finally being committed to paper and locked forever in that state.
Music, though, is an innately fluid being; it has a life of its own, ever growing and changing, but also constant, whether in feeling or meaning.
No where is this more evident than Doolin.
A great documentary for music lovers or lovers of the Emerald Isle, The Job of Songs is music to the soul.
The Job of Songs is currently available to stream on multiple outlets.
And remember, if the BEST thing you can say about a movie is that it’s “visually stunning,” then they’ve done something wrong.
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