Songcatcher (2000)

Synopsis of Songcatcher

Janet McTeer follows up her Oscar-nominated performance in Tumbleweeds (1999) with this period drama set during the 1910s. Dr. Lily Penleric (McTeer), an uptight musicologist, is furious after getting denied tenure again at an elite all-male East Coast university. She promptly quits out of protest, and having nowhere else to go, she joins her sister in a remote mountain school. Her high-minded, refined ways quickly clash with the locals, yet her academic interests are peaked when she realizes that this bucolic mountain culture is thoroughly infused with music that harkens back to traditional English and Scottish folk ballads. After retrieving some tools, including a primitive recording device, from the East Coast, she sets out collecting songs. The locals react with a mixture of amusement, bafflement, and suspicion. Meanwhile, a mining company is strong-arming the impoverished residences into selling their coal-rich land for a pittance. Lily soon realizes that the culture she's seeking to preserve is quickly being torn asunder. Aidan Quinn and David Patrick Kelly also appear in this film, which was screened at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

See All Songcatcher Trailers and Clips

Theatrical Feature Running Time:

109 mins

Director(s):

Maggie Greenwald

Writer(s):

Maggie Greenwald

Producer(s):

Richard Miller

Theatrical MPAA Rating:

PG13(Mild Violence, Adult Situations)

• 2000 - Sundance Film Festival - Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Ensemble Performance

Looking for special editions of Songcatcher?

See All Versions

Subtitles:

Check All Versions

Closed Captioning:

Check All Versions