MovieChat Forums > August Rush (2007) Discussion > i hate to bring people down to earth, bu...

i hate to bring people down to earth, but..

posted 15 years ago by robbie_stanleysmith
123 replies | jump to latest

i'm not a particularly cynical or critical reviewer. I routinely forgive films for presenting unrealistic situations for the purpose of drama. I totally forgive the minor elements which other reviewers have been criticising (11 year old August not having been adopted; being able to hitchhike to new york, meet a black minister and enrol at the juilliard with no identification whatsoever without being turned in to the police). However, I have to fundamentally disagree with the the message this film puts forth. Music is not some kind of magical spirit, like the Force, which some of us possess more of, and therefore can instinctively know how to conduct a symphony orchestra after playing the guitar. Musical ability is much like any other skill or craft; it takes dedication, time and practice, which result in the reward of improvement. It is an insult to any musician to suggest that anyone could sail into the juilliard with no effort on their innate 'musical talent'. I know that this has been exaggerated for dramatic purposes in the film, but the premise is nonsense. Musical ability is in my opinion almost totally due to a persons environment (how much they listen to and practice music), and the 'natural talent' which musicians are supposedly born with and which non musicians envy is almost negligible.
Some people have said that this film inspires people to take up music, but i think that it portrays music so fancifully and in such a fairy-tale way that when those people realise that learning a musical instrument takes hard work, they will be more disappointed and disenchanted with music. In a way, it alienates musicians from non musicians by portraying talented musicians as magicians.
Your thoughts (im particularly interested to hear from other musicians)

[–] fass99 15 years ago

There are so many things like you've mentioned that I noticed but things just went along. I do think some can grasp learning about music fairly quick but not in the time from the movie. I don't think you'll ever see someone like August Rush at such a young age in real life.

I would love to learn to play piano or the cello. This movie really makes me want to but I know deep down it's a lot more complex than as it is made out in the movie.

As for the minister taking August in, well, I think in reality that minister would probably get arrested for not reporting a child turning up there. Same for the Wizard, who somehow has a whole nest of children.

__
Thorpe89

[–] katzinoire 15 years ago

I actually think the minister couldn't report him because he only knew him as August Rush-and there were no children named August Rush listed as missing. Being a charity-they take care of him, while trying to resolve how he ended up with them, as well as to protect him (since August obviously didn't want to go back to where he came from, they may have thought him abused and chose to protect him. Again, it is a movie and a fanciful one at that, however if someone questioned a charity tending to a runaway, the chances are that the charity wouldn't get in trouble. It looks like they ran a homeless shelter of sorts as well, and most shelters report minors, and nothing comes of it-sadly this fact is true real life.

[–] mnbush 14 years ago

It looks like the minister did report 'August Rush' as missing. Didn't the social worker see a flyer to that effect near the waste can at the end of the movie, and this led the social worker to the Central Park concert?

[–] One_Man_Army 14 years ago

Research Jay Greenberg. At 3 years of age, 8 years younger than August Rush was in the film, he was both playing and writing music. Also, Mozart was doing so by age 6, 5 years younger than August Rush in the film. These are real musicians, and Jay Greenberg is the living personification of August Rush. At age 3, with no previous experience or study whatsoever, he was playing the cello perfectly almost immediately after seeing one for the first time. Soon after that and still at age 3, also with no previous experience or study, he was writing his own musical notation. Julliard even accepted him when he reached 10 years of age. You shouldn't say that we won't see them in real life because we already have more than a few times. I mean, Mozart and Greenberg are just 2. If you research these prodigies, you will find many more. I guarantee you will.

ALL HAIL THE HIGH QUEEN!!!!!

[–] Phoenixboy92 11 years ago

I agree with you completely. Mozart was composing by five years old and wrote his first symphony at eight. Some people are born with a talent that others could spend their entire lives working at without nearly as much success.

[–] One_Man_Army 11 years ago

Yes. That's what being a prodigy is all about. Some are born with a musical gift they pick up just by ear or sight without any prior knowledge whatsoever. Some learn that gift later on in life. Others just don't even take the time to learn it. Everyone is different and is born with different talents. Some people just don't realize how different we all are or how very capable the mind can be. Just because certain musicians didn't pick it up as quickly as certain child prodigies did doesn't make it any less possible. Some just pick it up a lot sooner than others in very different ways. The story of August Rush is fictional but obviously inspired by very real child prodigies who were actually much, much younger than August Rush was in the movie and actually picked up much more than August Rush did at a much earlier age.

Never give in. Never give up. Never surrender.

[–] pam430 15 years ago

I understand your point of view. In reality music demands work. Only the very dedicated person with music in the soul can achieve the magic. I do believe in the magic of music. I have been teaching music for many years and have found that though a student may really want to play or sing with feeling and love, only those with the "magic" truly connect and become one with the musical message. I have worked very hard practicing and honing my instrument, but I have a gift inside me that makes my music come alive. Playing correct notes on the page does not a musician make.
So, I loved the movie even with the improbabilities. I believe that the magic of music can be stimulated in a prodigy. August Rush was a gifted young man and was plugged into the energy of the gift. May we all dream of experiencing a magic moment when music connects with the soul.
Pam McAlister

[–] d_mara11 15 years ago

I completely agree. Most things in life require much work to accomplish. Music is one of the. BUT in order to succeed in what you desire to accomplish when it comes to music, you have to have the music within you first. I have heard it said that "Practice makes perfect". Well, thats wrong. It should be "Practice makes permanent". If you love the idea of becoming a musician and being great at a musical instrument, but dont have what it takes and practice even a little bit wrong or with the wrong motives, you can never get it right. I love music. I have been playing music since i can remember. I developed my love for the cello while watching August Rush. I may never be as good as Lyla Novacheck, but she inspired me to strive for more, and not just settle for where I am. I am a good musician, but you can always be better. Strive for excellence. This is what is truly important in life.

[–] barbie8051 15 years ago

Yes. I agree fully with your comments. The original poster of this message is clearly not a musician. Prodigies do exist.
Even with much of the movie being a "Cinderella" type story, it is wonderful. Another wonderful movie is "The Notebook". I am also hoping that "The Time Traveler's Wife"' which is coming out on August 14 is good, as well.

[–] hppg 15 years ago

It was all fairy tale but there are prodigies out there for whom it's much easier than for the rest of us. Remember he had received a fair bit of good training by the time he was composing properly, conducting etc.

[–] Redai02 15 years ago

Exactly! This is basically a modern Oliver Twist-like story with a musical spin. I sing, but I don't play any instruments...I'm trying to play guitar, and it is difficult, but it didn't bug me in the movie, him grasping it so quickly. I can get past the improbability and focus on the fantasy.

[–] xArvenx 15 years ago

For the average person, it will always take a lot of work. Even with natural talent. But there are those extremely rare few, such as Mozart or Picasso, who pump out artistic masterpieces as early as age 6. They exist, but not often.

[–] Ignore_This_Poster 15 years ago

You must not know many musicians.
You also don't understand that the movie is supposed to be a fairy-tale. Why don't you go criticize some mother goose stories next.

[–] another242 15 years ago

Mozart began composing music at 5. I'll admit that it's an extraordinarily rare quality to have, but you can't deny that it exists in the real world. Given the fact that certain traits are known to pass from the parent to the child (tendency toward alcoholism, anger management, affinity for particular foods), why not have August/Evan turn out as a musical prodigy considering his parents' natural abilities?

The movie itself is complete and utter fiction, the idea of two people finding themselves a decade after meeting, still looking quite attractive and somehow single, re-joined together by their long lost son's symphony. But that's kinda the point of movies. I certainly don't want to watch 2 hours of someone's life as they wake up late for work, banter with boring colleagues, go home to cook dinner, pay their taxes, and go to bed. I want extraordinary.

[–] MoeHartman 15 years ago

Even Mozart had to have training before he was able to start composing. August just starts slapping and hammering on that guitar like he's done it his whole life.

I didn't like this movie, but my biggest problem would definitely have to be the sugary sweetness of it. The ending was unbearable.

[–] another242 15 years ago

Yeah you do have a point. This kid had nothing but raw talent, which is a good start, but no one can just pick up a guitar and start making music like that. The scene where he first starts composing bothered me too, c'mon the black girl just went through the E-G-B-D-F and F-A-C-E really briefly and suddenly he's drawing complex stuff that would take at least a few hours of explanation, even to a prodigy.

Come to think of it, that sappy ending bothered me too. There was a lot along the way that bugged me, and I think only the music itself actually held my attention.

[–] Winfield_Browne 15 years ago

"..... c'mon the black girl just went through the E-G-B-D-F and F-A-C-E really briefly and suddenly he's drawing complex stuff that would take at least a few hours of explanation, even to a prodigy...."

Evan is a synesthete ...

I'm just taking a guess here but Evan has been hearing the music his entire life in everything he does and every where he goes ... The Book was always there, it was just missing a couple of chapters.

When Hope shows him the notes and what they are about, to Evan it was like opening the door and installing the missing chapters into his Book. Suddenly it was all clear in the way it never had been before. Now all those weird colors and sensations he's been having are pictures of notes flying around in response.

Just my very humble opinion. I'd suggest brushing up on Synesthetes and Synesthesia ... it's what works for me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia

[–] toddkreuz 14 years ago

You apparentlly didnt read the definition of Synesthesia. Which is
remarkable, since you post a link to it. You must be unbelievably dense.

Anyway, if the kid in the movie was such a great prodigy, why did he write such awful music?
Obvious follow up question. Why did they hire such a horrible composer to score this film? The kid is supposed to be a prodigy, right? Why the insipid excuse for orchestral score?

I love movies. I hate people.

[–] One_Man_Army 14 years ago

Boy, talk about being dense, fool. You apparently didn't read the definition of Synesthesia yourself. You may want to try again. Oh and awful music, huh? This goes to show that you don't know what good music is. I guess that goes with the territory of being an epic moron. The orchestral score was not insipid, at all. You clearly are too stupid to understand what insipid means, moron. Look it up. The score was invigorating and exciting.

ALL HAIL THE HIGH QUEEN!!!!!

[–] dglsjms 14 years ago

Todddreuz, you are a douche bag. This movie has very high spiritual overtones, and that is what it was meant to be. You DON'T know anything about synesthesia; you might want to put down that bottle of cough syrup you've obviously become in love with, because you are not in touch with reality. You see, over the counter cough syrup contains dextromethorphan, which I'm sure you are aware of. Lay off the junk. one man army is right.

[–] dglsjms 14 years ago

Yeah. It must be all the cough syrup you are slammin', because you clearly don't see this spiritual metaphor of this movie. Do you know what a metaphor is, *beep* for brains? I said, "overtones", but that's not even the way to put it. The spirituality literally slaps you in the face, but you don't have the eyes to see it nor the ears to hear it. Dextromethorphan is a dissociative anesthetic when taken in overdose, and I'm pretty sure you need to put down the bottle of Robitussin and step AWAY from the computer. Wait. Allow me to correct myself. Technically, Robitussin contains dextromethorphan hydrobromide. It's the bromides that cause the drain bamage you must be experiencing to overlook the spirituality inherent in August Rush from my p.o.v. ( By the way, brain damage or not, you are still a douche bag. ) Let's look at August Rush from my p.o.v.. My spiritual path is called Eckankar, also know as the religion of the Light and Sound of God. These twin aspects of Light and Sound are what Christians would call the Holy Spirit. In Eckankar, one uses the Light to steer himself away from the pitfalls and danger. But, more important is the Sound Wave that breaches the shore only to return to Its source- God. We must literally ride the Sound Wave like a current that takes Soul home, to the Ocean of Love and Mercy. This Sound is spoken of in virtually all the religions that ever had existed, and it will still be there in the future because all life comes from this Audible Life Stream. Let' see what the Shariyat-Ki Sugmad ( the spiritual scriptures for those who follow the path of ECK ) has to say.

ECK ( the Sound Current ) is the totality of all awareness. It is the omnipresence of God, the omiscience, and the omnipotence, the allness of God in Its Kingdom and the universes. Life is concerned only with the primal Vadan, the word of It. This is the essence of life. Nothing is greater than the Word of the worlds. Hence God speaks to us only through the primal Sound. Out of this divine Voice all the other sounds flow. Those who are in It distinguish between the primal worlds and the manifest Word, between the original music and Its echo. They are able to point out the Dhunatmik Sound and the Varnatmik souns. The all-creative ECK ( the Holy Spirit, chi, prana the Force from Star Wars, if you will ) is the Voice of God, out of which all other sounds arise. At the same time Its divine strains linger in all material planes as echoes of the original melody ( do you see where I am going with this, *beep* for brains? Virtually all religions have this element of Sound. Take the Buddhist momks chanting their mantras for hours on end,or the Christian monks doing the same, or even the seven hundred an fifty million Hindus with their mantras- it all comes down to Sound. I forgot the Muslim mystic Sufis, with their chanting of the word HU ( I wonder, how many Muslims there are in the world today? ) I do believe that I have set up a firm foundation to back up my statements. What have you, besides a soiled pair of tighty whiteys with *beep* stains in the back because you are too ignorant to respond to legitimate claims that August Rush was a beautiful movie?. Allow me to go further in my adventures to prove that you did not get the fancy G.E.D. degree that you claim to have, and that your statements arise out of a Robitussin stupor.

Did I forget to mention that you are a douche bag? Just checking. The Voice of God is the Dhunatmik, the sound which cannot be spoken. It has no written symbol. Such is the Music of God. The Varnatmik is the sound which can be spoken or written. Hence, the scriptures of the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad can be spoken or written on the lower planes of God. But in the higher worlds, it is only the heavenly white music. The Holy Spirit is the Ocean of Love and Mecry, a life giving, creative sea, heard by the divine followers of God. The Voice of God includes all the qualities of the magnificent Being in the Ocean of Love and Mercy. It's Voice may be heard and seen by those who are able to participate in It throughout the worlds of the Supreme Deity It may be seen and heard by those awakened Souls, who have received the initiation from the ECK Adepts.

The Voice speaks to all who listen. It speaks in the whisper of the wind, the roar of the sea, and the voices of birds and animals- in all things. The spiritually blind will never see the Light, nor the deaf hear the Sound. (Is this finally starting to seep into your cough syrup drenched brain? Doesn't this sound an awful lot like the very obvious message that August Rush is trying to convey? ) He who has the ears to hear shall gather unto himself the wisdom of the Voice of the Holy Spirit in the worlds of God!

He who must know and see and hear shall be the perfect Soul. Unless one hears that which we know as the Bani ( Sound Current ), he shall remain deaf to all truths. Doesn't Wizard say summat exactly like this to Even, while they are looking up at the stars? Doesn't Wizard say summat about riding the Sound Wave? Does he not say to Evan, " You know what's out there kid? It's a series of higher tones...") or the Nada Bindu, the seed from which all things grow? I'm gonna stop now, cause you're just too fookin' ignorant to understand summat that requiers the intelligence of a two year old. Freddie Highmore would eat you for breakfast, *beep*

[–] amnesia_vivace 8 years ago

pre·ten·tious

Jesus *beep* Christ.

[–] Borg222 14 years ago

ummm yeah the original poster is pretty off and perhaps has never heard of say Beethoven or MOzart....who may not have learn from some practice? ya think?

Likes movies, taken away, but thoughtfull

[–] katzinoire 15 years ago

4 words "It is a movie"

Like a fairytale on screen-it's not supposed to be realistic-then again neither is eating a poison apple and waking up. A fairytale to be sure. Enjoy it, don't analyze it. :)

[–] jm10701 15 years ago

Some of us enjoy by analyzing.

[–] silby412 15 years ago

Wow, it is a movie. Have you seen Space Jam? Did you post a message bringing people down to earth in that forum by telling them that there is no such thing as magical shoes? You seem to hold a lot of hostility towards a fictional boy getting into Julliard and composing a symphony to reunite his parents. Furthermore there are a lot of musicians that liken music to a "magical spirit" or what have you such as Stevie Wonder or Santana, and I think I'll take their word over yours. No one is arguing the realism of the movie, just enjoy it and relax man. It's called a "feel good" movie, no need to call out the premise as "nonsense".

[–] Ryu_Darkwood 15 years ago

I felt that the message was more that music is a beautiful and magical experience than that you can attain grandness without work and dedication. And believe me, I really hate how Hollywood created the big lie of ''The Happy End''.

[–] robbie_stanleysmith 15 years ago

'Wow, it is a movie. Have you seen Space Jam? Did you post a message bringing people down to earth in that forum by telling them that there is no such thing as magical shoes?'

Well, no, because the magical shoes and cartoon characters are clearly part of a fantasy world. The problem i have with august rush is that it presents musical ability as a magical talent with which some of us are 'gifted', whilst trying to set the film in a realistic world. The difference is that noone thinks that the magic shoes from Space Jam exist, but many non-musical people seem to think that innate musical ability is something that some of us are born with and some of us aren't. Would you say a nuclear physicist was gifted with the special ability to understand the subject? No, he/she learned it through hard work and perseverance.

Yes, music has the power to convey emotions, but no musician's ability to do this is unachievable through hard work. It just sometimes seems this way to often less musical audiences who are moved by music but don't understand why, or are reluctant to imagine how much work has gone into creating a performance; so they conclude that talented musicians must have some sort of advantage or gift or headstart in the field, because the audience can't imagine that they themselves could ever give a similar perfomance. Things we are ignorant about can seem overwhelming.

'Yes, I've died and gone to heaven, females are fighting over their pants..'

[–] xpac403 15 years ago

Men have been able to come up with some of the most advanced math theory in history with zero formal education. Simply being introduced to basic volumes of which they were not familiar. Motzart wrote some of the most recognized musical compositions before puberty. True genius exists, but is rarely understood. I'm not saying I can understand it myself mind you, I'm simply stating that I don't believe it impossible or out of the realm of possibility that a child prodigy can be introduced to a few instruments and simple music texts and create an advanced rhapsody.

"It's not personal Sonny, it's strictly business"

[–] igoresse 15 years ago

I'm sorry to disappoint you but when "Mozart wrote some of his most recognized musical compositions", even in puberty, he was already exposed to an extremely active musical world, he was a master in 2 instruments (violin and clavecin), he had studied solo, chamber and orchestral scores extensively and he had been touring Europe as a child prodigy performer for years. So... He might have done everything really fast (composing a symphony at age 8 is no little thing), but he didn't fall out of the sky nor srpang fully armed from the head of Zeus like Minerva.

Every creature on this earth dies alone.

[–] joeo78501 15 years ago

You are making the mistake of making some literal interpretations of the movie and its message. Movies are an art form (at least some are) you do not interpret poems songs or other works of art literally. In this movie, music, is a metaphor for love,hope, truth and its universal interwoven connections. In life it is better if you are honest, loving and well meaning of others. Their should always be passion, love and integrity in the use of your God given talents. It is not good to be selfish or controling of others ( this is no great secret) (ie. the girls father,Robin Williams character, and the young busker 's jealousy hurt and resentment of his prodigy friend at first) All these negative actions brought about unhappiness and near disaster. You want to love and encourage everyone. Guidance with love and temperance is better than pride selfishness and egotistcal motivations. To not love and guide others with their best intentions in mind is to not aspire to the best in our humanness. That a message that all three main characters eventually heard and answered their call to find and express their love and truth is a most positive message. Toward the end even the father and the young busker redeem themselves. When the young boy is asked how he creates his music he answers " it is all around us, it calls me, sometimes I wake up and its there". Like I said that is the thing about our humaness our hope and our Love we must all anwer this calling.
These messages of love and its interweaving binding connections is well worth suspending other elements of fantasy. In art forms reality is not all its cracked up to be.