O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?

[1993iris]

This movie draws a vivid picture of the South in 1930's depression era. People in the south were losing money and bankrupt. Delmar said that he wanted to use the money to buy his family's farm back, since so many people lost their farms during the depression. A lot of people had to survive by stealing and ended up in prison. This is why this movie choose three prisoners to be the main character. Also, the movie mentioned Ku Klux Klan (KKK). For a long time, the South means slavery and discrimination. Even the most popular governor candidate was the leader of KKK and tried to kill Tommy. The authority was corrupted by people who believed in white power. Also, the songs in this movie are beautiful and are typical southern country songs. The movie gives us a clear idea how country songs are like in the South. The language they spoke also represented the southern language of United Stated.

This movie is actually based on Odyssey. Everett and his companions Delmar and Pete run into an adventure to save Everett's marriage in 1930's Mississippi. We can find the original character of "O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?" in Odyssey. The whole movie is a heroic journey which is similar to The Wizard of Oz. The main character harvested friendship and became more mature during the adventurous journey. When Everett faced death, he converted. He started to prey for god to forgive him, but when he was saved, he became into a non-believer again. During the trip, all three of them learned to take care of each other and other people. Everett and Delmar saved Pete from the Sheriff when they had a chance to run. Pete didn't turn his friends in when he was threatened by the Sheriff. And all three of them saved Tommy from KKK risk their lives. At first, they might be selfish people, but during the trip they learnt how to be noble. In the end, they had their awards by being pardoned and becoming the think tank of the new governor.

The movie is also a comedy that narrating some serious problem in the South in a very hilarious way. Some plots are really ridiculous but ironic. I love the way Coen Brothers tell their story.

Siying Li (Iris)

[Daeyoungkim]

1930s American South, this is the movie`s background. This movie written and directed by the Coen Brothers, who is very famous black comedy director.

I think this movie is also black comedy movie. Not only black comedy story also we can find interesting point, compare with Odyssey.
This movie has lots of similarities with Odyssey. The three main characters Everett McGill, Pete Hogwallop, and Delmar O’Donnell escape from a prison and this escaped trio traveled to Mcgill`s home town. Main charater`s name Ulysses Everett McGill is from Greek novel, Odyssey. When they were journey, they met so many happenings like record song, one-eyed giants appearing in the Odyssey, fairies who song in the river, there are many factors to evoke the Odyssey.
Also, a lot of things in this adventure is also reminiscent from Odyssey. If people saw this movie read the Odyssey, you'll find the more interesting elements.
Not only comparing with odyssey, finding American history at 1930s also give big interesting to me such as slavery, election, racism, and KKK. Furthermore, there are a lot of beautiful songs.and these songs are enough to attract people.

This movie has lots of interesting elements. Actually, after watched this movie in class, I watched again at my home. This movie is amazing and I became big fan of Coen Brothers.

[YiminGu]

I have to be honest, O Brother, Where Art Thou? is not an easy-to-follow movie for language learners. The heavy southern accent was really torturing my ears (it is sexy though, anything’s sexy with George Clooney), let alone the sophisticated historical allusions, political and religious satire. But the bluegrass music indeed delighted me.

During the movie, I felt that it was more like a collection of great bits and pieces rather than a complete work, because jumping from one scene to another, I didn’t see smooth coherence. But at the last scene, when Everett saw the cow on the roof of a cotton house, I suddenly remembered the predictions that the blind seer made at the very beginning and realized that this is a story of destiny. Everything took place exactly as the blind seer indicated.

“You seek a great fortune, you three who are now in chains. You will find a fortune, though it will not be the one you seek.” They set out for money treasure, but ended up not only becoming the music star, but also being pardoned by the governor, and being his brain trust. In addition to that, Everett also made it to stop his wife’s wedding with another man.

“But first... first you must travel a long and difficult road, a road fraught with peril. Mm-hmm. You shall see thangs, wonderful to tell.” On the road, there are all kinds of adventures, for example, the ones with sirens, a Bible-bashing Polyphemus, with the public enemy “babyface”, corrupt politicians and the Klan, accompanied by a wealth of terrific music.

“You shall see a... a cow... on the roof of a cotton house, ha. And, oh, so many startlements. I cannot tell you how long this road shall be, but fear not the obstacles in your path, for fate has vouchsafed your reward. Though the road may wind, yea, your hearts grow weary; still shall ye follow them, even unto your salvation.” The old man has foreseen everything. We fought hard in our lives not to change our destiny but rather to harvest unknown treasures on the road, like friendship and family.

[Xiaoyu]

Hi Mike, sorry for submitting my post late. I just quiet understand the plot, so it took me sometime to figure it out.

I can tell from the movie that it was happened in south area of America. The environment, the crops and the cloth of main characters are all represent South.

Though I wasn't interested in the movie at first, I did like the music in the movie. Bluegrass music, it has mixed roots in Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and English[2] traditional music, and also later influenced by the music of African-Americans[3] through incorporation of jazz elements (from Wikipedia). Bluegrass music is the music style used in this movie. "You are my sunshine" showed up in this movie for 3 times. The first time was in the scene of prison break; the second time was they reunion in a friend's home; the third time was in the last of the movie. The 3 scenes conveyed different feelings with one same song. How amazing it is!

I didn't watch Odyssey before, but we watched Wizard of OZ in class together. I think the two movies both talk about an adventure to go back home. And they all describe how the characters change during their journey.

Thank you!

Xiaoyu Yang Iris

[Yuqing sun]

These Movie tells a story that in the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them. Along this adventure the three leading characters met different people and unbelievable things however their will was strengthened and friendship was established which is informative for all the audience.

The movie shows far deeper meaning than just being a adventurous story. It reveals how government abuse prisoners by making them to do excessive work, how the huge depression in economy turn people into heartless creature rapacious for money, and how race relations and religion be used by politicians to build up discrimination in society and to gain elections. I'm sure that the time this movie game out lots of people was touched or even shocked by the crucial fact it revealed.

I still remember a scene when Big Dan punched Everet and Delmer and squash "Pete" into death. Wasn't Big Dan supposed to be a Bible Seller who respect god and offer mercy to all creatures? Money, the poisoned apple that drives people crazy, blind people's eyes during the depression when making ends meet is like a mission-impossible. We should be alerted by this movie because as the globalization process accelerate these years, financial crisis can be more likely to take place, burying the whole world under the haze of money shortage. If this is the case how can we stay who we are without selling our soul to money?

Also, I have to mention how amazing the music was in the movie, which is in classic southern U.S style. To some extend, the music is one of the most important things that make this movie a masterpiece.

[Taro]

Hi, this is Taro (Siyu Wei) here with my review of 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?'.

The story takes place in Mississippi in 1930s,in which state resistance to the black exits much more than other states and it still does today. What’s more, Bluegrass music is at the heart of the film, as it was of "Bonnie and Clyde," and there are images of chain gangs, sharecropper cottages, cotton fields, populist politicians, river baptisms, hobos on freight trains, patent medicines, 25-watt radio stations and Klan rallies. Those who are familiar with American culture may know that American country music originated in the southern America in 1920s. Both of them build a strong atmosphere of Southern American culture.

After my research, I find out that 'O Brother' is a story based on Homer's the Odyssey. By using the story framework of "the Odyssey", the Coen brothers present their own thoughts. Also revealing the truth of destiny, like 'the Odyssey' but not a clone, 'O Brother' creates a brand-new story, in which three prisoners escape from prison and start a strange but meaningful odyssey. During their escape, strange people they meet remind the prototypes from the Odyssey. Penny reflects Odyssey’s wife; the sirens represent the three enchantresses; Big Dan Teague corresponds to one-eyed Polypheme. However in "O Brother", it is easy to find sex, religion and fortune which three themes can be commonly found in the Coen brothers' movies. Through the events, we are showed that sex is a sin, money brings uneasiness, politics is a farce but religion is still nothing.

Together experiencing kinds of events, finally a deep feeling comes into being between these three "brothers". Honestly, instead of the story, I’m more interested in the music.

[Yoni chang]

The movie is based on the southern America, and I can notice it through the words and accents they use in the movie and also the movie features the Great Depression period, reflecting the hardship for southern America during the period. There are just few opportunities for jobs and they can hardly gain wages! The rural areas of the southern part were explicitly shown in the movie and it makes the movie look more dramatic.

The both, the wizard of OZ and Obrothers, are the stories about going back to home. Dorothy went to a unintentional journey to go back to the home, and also the Everett did escape from the prison to go back to home and stop his wife from getting married with other guy. Moreover, both of the journey to the home is quite desperate and contains challenges to overcome.

Firstly, they are connected with each other by chain so they have to move together. They don’t know each other well in the first, but during the journey, they were not only familiar with each other but also understand each other, risking their lives in the end. Moreover, the self-centered Everett became more concerned about his friend.

Frankly, at first time, the movie is hard to understand and I cannot catch the point that the movie is trying to say. However, at the end of the movie, I can picture what the whole movie is about, and it was a great experience!

[Yumqqq]

Hello Mike, here's my review for O Brother, Where Art Thou?. I don't know much about Odyssey or Homer, and all the impressions that I have toward Greek mythologies come from the Roman stories that I read when I was a kid. I didn't quite understand the plot of O Brother, Where Art Thou?, but since the movie starts with black and white scenes, and gradually turns into colorful scenes, mostly warm color, and then followed with a black and white scene in the ending, I just tend to have a feeling that the movie is somehow like a capture of America in the early 20th century.

Religion has always been a theme in Coen Brothers’ movies. Quite a lot of religious elements appear in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, such as the Christians going through baptism in the river, the black guy who has to devote his soul to devil to exchange for a guitar, the sheriff who keeps tracing Everett, Pete, and Delmar like a devil, as well as the 3K party that changes the destiny of the three brothers. As for Everett, the figure himself is a little bit funny actually. At the beginning, Everett refuses to go through baptism in the river and even laughs at Pete and Delmar for doing so. However, when they almost get killed in the wood, he starts to pray quite devotedly, and when they are saved by a flood, Everett again takes this like a kind of coincidence.

The original sound track in O Brother, Where Art Thou? does attracts me a lot, and the music relates quite closely with the scenes in the movie, like the sound of prisoners’ punching the roadbed, the babbling sound in the river, as well as the sound of the footsteps in the 3K party. The movie itself I would say, is a very classic comedy, and it has created several interesting figures and a pleasant atmosphere throughout the story. Anyway, I think there must be still a lot more to enjoy in the movie, maybe I'll try to watch it and grab the true meaning of this story some time.

-Yumqqq.

　

[RayXiao]

Write a setup/opinion of O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?.

Hi this is the Ray who is late for the movie review.

I have to apologize for being absent from a major part of this movie owing to a family emergency that I had to take care of back home. I was able to return for the last 20 minutes or so of the movie and please forgive me for remembering mostly about the music!

What astonished and surprised me was the gravediggers' song. "The Lonesome Valley" is the song's name I believe, and I have always loved the low and rumbling voices and twisted tones of the hymning, let alone the A Cappella style of performance. The three brothers, being misjudged and mistreated, are close to the end of their lives with their hands and freedom tied up when the prayer to God is responded with a mysterious flood, and all I can remember from this scene is how quiet but powerful the flood is, as is the hymn.

What is ironic is that right after the lawman claims to defy law as well as the mundane world, his hidden agenda (motivated by his own secular, corrupted and evil is mind) is destroyed by a heaven-sent flood out of nowhere. I guess only those who are truly humble, honest and kind could be called upon and helped by something beyond the secular world. Sometimes it could be our own faith that is the saviour of our life, right?

[dr.musleh.dent]

How does this story represent the South?
This story is a great example of South American's culture. And they really need time to get changed. Hierarchy and racism are really clear.

How does this story compare with the Odyssey and The Wizard of Oz?
I don't think there's any connection between this story and the wizard of Oz. But anyway, this story represents that we should be able to hold the hope to the end. We should be proud of ourselves.

How do Everett, Pete, and Delmar change during the course of the story?
Life is hard; we need to go through and be strong enough to face the difficulties in. They had been good brothers, nice cooperators and great harmony. They faced some issues which were difficult to solve easily.

Write a setup/opinion of O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?.
It was interesting as an American culture. I don't like it because it was weak of pictures and directory.