"August Rush" Is A True Fairytale Set In Our Days. The Movie Was To Be Nominated For An Oscar For The Song "Raise It Up".

Those who ever pick a guitar, those who ever sit in front of a piano or behind a drum kit, those who stand up mike in hand are doing it not because of fame, becoming immortal or hitting the cover of magazines. Any musician truly worth its salt steps on a stage because there is something he just can not communicate otherwise, in the same way that a writer or a painter expresses a part of him through his art – a part that he could not convey by other means.

Nowhere is this reminded with so much grace and virtuosity than in “August Rush” (2007). In the movie, music creates life. A boy is born to classic performer Lyla (Keri Russel) and rock musician Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) in a night of passion. Fate then separates the two of them. Lyla still decides to have the baby, but her father is against it because it would hinder her career as a cellist. When she has an accident, he gives her newborn away for adoption, naming him Evan and telling Lyla her child has died. The boy (played by Freddie Highmore) is to eventually embark on a journey to find his parents. He is going to make them listen to him, turn his life into a melody they could never pass by.

That is the basic premise of “August Rush”, the closest to a fairytale set in the modern world I have ever seen. Don’t approach it looking for a rationale or feasible plot because you will be cringing within half an hour. However, if you believe that music is more than something to be played at the background during parties or casual events, “August Rush” will be in your wavelength. And if you are a MusicKO regular, I think I know where you stand. Continue reading →