La musique du bonheur

Not expecting much, I was very surprised by how thoroughly I enjoyed this movie. It moved me so much I think I am writing my first movie review. Perhaps I should confess that I'm an amateur violist living in a small town with a loving family with daughters, so I identified with the situation in this movie. I felt it had an honest, though idealized, feel to it. Admittedly the story was fairly predictable but the acting was superb. The idea of focusing on talented musicians (mother, daughter) trying to fit into a small town isn't a common movie context. The tension between wanting friends yet needing to be yourself leads to risky decisions. Very worthwhile.

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.

My wife and I thought this was a sweet movie about life in a small town. Maybe because we can relate to the main character who is a square peg in a round hole. We enjoyed the film and it made a nice quiet date night.

If you live in a small town you will recognize many of the characters and themes.

The story revolves around the mother and daughter, their stories intertwined but each stands on its own.

My three teenage boys probably wouldn't have cared for it. But if you have a teenage daughter she'll probably love it.

This based on a book by Garrison Keillor. If you like his "Praire Home Companion" show you'll like this.

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.

I watched this film in dubbed French and it was the first time I've been able to watch a dubbed-film all the way through. I loved the fact that the film moves quite slowly and I felt that it had a certain "Fried Green Tomatoes in the WhistleStop Cafe" (one of my favourite movies) feel about it. It certainly wasn't as gritty as FGTitWC but I was glued for the entire afternoon.

This is a really good movie if you are really hungover or tired and don't need particularly brain tormenting TV to watch. I would recommend it for a group of girls especially if they're already into classical music.