After being denied a promotion at the university where she teaches, Doctor Lily Penleric, a brilliant musicologist, visits her sister, who runs a struggling rural school in Appalachia. There she stumbles upon a treasure trove of ancient Scots-Irish ballads, songs that have been handed down from generation to generation, preserved intact by the seclusion of the mountains.
Writer/Director: Maggie Greenwald
Stars: Janet McTeer, Pat Carroll, Aidan Quinn.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210299/
Watched online, slightly sped up, tight zoom in on small fraction (center) of image, with grid overlaid.
22 songs in the Soundtracks, only 3 have writer credits, the rest are "traditional folk songs".
It's hard to determine the time of the film. The skits are almost straight, but no indication of automobiles, so maybe 1880's.
The story is ok. The music is borderline unpleasant. Supposedly the songs were 400 yo in the time of the film, so it's not really hillbilly music, but the foundation for it. Then again, the print was slightly sped up (1hr 30 min, but speaking voices sounded close to normal).
Don't watch this print again; having such a small portion of the screen is headache-inducing and makes it difficult to determine who's onscreen.
Rated 7.2 (3,023)
distr. Lions Gate, dir. Greenwald; 6-
