The Sandy Bottom Orchestra

This movie is a loving look at small town life through the eyes of an offbeat family and their love of classical music. Glenne Headly stars as the musically trained mom stuck in a small town she feels is shallow and parochial, but is reminded of the special place she has in it all the same [yes, the movie is Hallmark flavored sweetness, but it still has truth and honesty to it]. Her husband, a music loving dairy worker, decides to have a classical concert at the next annual dairy festival. Their teenage daughter (a talented musician) is having growing pains of her own -- she's the film narrator, and it's primary voice (we also see some things through the mother's point of view). An interesting subplot involves the mother's role as church choirmaster, and the struggles of the minister. This subplot in particular has some bite, and helps the movie not to be just written off as trite fluff.

An enjoyable movie that honors family, music, small town life, religion, and independence. A small film of a certain kind, predictable in its way, but not so easily written off as standard fare. We need more movies like this... how often do such themes get full length treatment?

This is a film rich in good intentions, but they are so Hallmark-cleansed that much of the real tension is gone. The right people and pieces are there in the right order -- right down to the third cow in the barn -- but what was missing was truth, honesty. It is a suitable "feel good" picture if it doesn't take too much to make you feel good.

Another thing: "Sandy Bottom Orchestra" suffers from is what almost all pictures suffer from these days: the sound FX and music are mixed way in front of the voice tracks. That might work for "Terminator" (and I'm not sure it does), but good grief, "Sandy Bottom" is a narration and dialogue picture! Why is the VOX mixed so far back, and therefore hard to discriminate?

One more thing... I find great irony that a touchy-feely picture about a small town in Minnesota (tightly knit and very American, you know) was shot in Canada.

On the other hand, the DP should be congratulated on great lighting, especially for the exterior shots. "Magic time" was used a lot and very well. It gave most of the exteriors a very lush look without reverting to oversaturation during the timing and transfer process. Good job!

I agree with all of the positive comments above. Our church in fact will be showing this movie in our Fall Movie Nights.

A great family and coming of age film. The scenery is beautiful, the acting very natural, the plot realistic, and the underlying theme is beautiful. It is a treasure of a movie for it's return to a simpler, more wholesome town that is reminiscent of Lake Wobegon - Garrison Keillor's mystical Minnesota town. I especially think it teaches the value of forgiveness, staying to your principles, and hope / faith.

I think all churches should review this film for showing to preteens as a lesson of being yourself and not getting caught up in the pressure to confirm to any popular lifestyle.

I came across this movie on line and , having nothing better to do I checked it out. I'm a lifelong musician myself so I'm always interested in movies with a musical theme. This was a good one. One complaint, some of the scenes that showed the actors playing their instruments were faked so badly it was hard to watch. That's the biggest flaw I could see. One more thing, Interlochen Center for the Arts was mentioned many times. For those who don't know it's a real place in Michigan with an international reputation as one of the finest places of its kind in the world. I personally have known people who have gone there. All in all a worthwhile film.

Sandy Bottom is a picture postcard perfect little midwestern town where everyone is perfect right down to their imperfections which, if course, being perfect, they always apologize for having in the most perfect way. "The Sandy Bottom Orchestra" is a dreamy, sweet, sentimental little made-for-tv film about a family of three who infuse the population of Sandy Bottom with a dash of culture by creating a classical orchestra...etc., etc. An excellent little unpretentious "feel good" flick, "TSBO" does what is sets out to do and quits...in a perfect sort of way. Enjoyable stuff for anyone in need of a break from the usual frenetic film fare.