Ann Savoy Movies
This lively documentary takes the viewer deep into the Cajun and Zydeco musical world of Louisiana, and features interviews and performances from some of the best known musicians, as it traces the history of both musical forms using archival footage from the 1930s onward. That history is inextricably intertwined with the history of the people who settled Louisiana, and the documentary illuminates that story with interviews from historians and folklore specialists. Among the many musicians featured are Clifton Chenier, Queen Ida, and Wayne Toups. These two musical forms were almost obliterated by the influx of U.S. popular music when rural Louisiana became less isolated after World War Two, but they underwent a revival in the 1960's which has continued to this day. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Doucet, Marc Savoy, (more)
- 2001
All My Children of the Sun narrates the recognition and growth of Cajun, zydeco, Tejano, and Native American music from the 1960s to the present. Inspired by a warm reception at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, Dewey Balfa returned to Louisiana determined to revitalize Cajun music. The steady pulse of Cajun music, intended for dancing, also spread to the African-American community. There, musicians like Clifton Chenier added new rhythms to create a hybrid called zydeco. Many contemporary artists added experimental touches to traditional music. Dakota Sioux Floyd Westerman employed country music to protest the mistreatment of Native Americans, while Robert Mirabal underscores his compositions with ritualistic drama. Other musicians draw freely from multiple roots genres. Banjoist Bela Fleck merges bluegrass with jazz and rock, while singer Gillian Welch fuses old-timey music, gospel, and country blues. All My Children of the Sun includes footage of Native American dancing, and interviews with Robbie Robertson, Flaco Jimenez, and Edwin Hawkins. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Movie Guide
- 2002
- PG13
- Add Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood to QueueAdd Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood to top of Queue
Screenwriter Callie Khouri makes her directorial debut with this adaptation of a pair of popular novels by author Rebecca Wells, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Little Altars Everywhere. Sandra Bullock stars as Sidda Lee Walker, a New York playwright who opens a can of emotional worms with her estranged, boozy mother, Vivi (Ellen Burstyn), when she discusses her painful childhood and particularly Vivi's less-than-enviable mothering skills in a Time magazine article. The eccentric Louisiana drama queen Vivi has already been barred from her daughter's oft-delayed wedding to her fiancé, Connor (Angus Macfadyen), so the article sends her into a rage. Coming to the rescue of the relationship are Necie (Shirley Knight), Caro (Maggie Smith), and Teensy (Fionnula Flanagan), a trio of bickering women, who, along with Vivi, formed a secret society of feminist empowerment and friendship 60 years earlier that they dubbed the "Ya-Ya Sisterhood." The Ya-Yas kidnap Sidda and bring her home to Louisiana, where they reveal to Sidda via a carefully maintained scrapbook her mother's painful past (with Vivi portrayed in flashback by Ashley Judd), effecting a rapprochement between mother and daughter. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood also stars James Garner. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, (more)
Directed by filmmaker Louis Schwartzberg, America's Heart and Soul traverses across thousands of miles of American soil in an effort to showcase not just the beauty of the land, but the very soul of the United States -- its people. Exploring groups from American Indians to generation-spanning farming families, Schwartzberg endeavors to capture the stories of an extremely diverse population in hopes of displaying their common American dreams and values. Billed as a celebration of the country as told by its people, the documentary also includes the stories of several steel workers, car-show attendees, religious figures, and over 20 other unique individuals. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
