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Poster for Songcatcher

Songcatcher

Fall under its spell..

2001 · 1h 49m · PG-13 Drama, Music
Directed by Maggie Greenwald

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Overview

After being denied a promotion at the university where she teaches, Doctor Lily Penleric, a brilliant musicologist, impulsively visits her sister, who runs a struggling rural school in Appalachia. There she stumbles upon the discovery of her life - a treasure trove of ancient Scots-Irish ballads, songs that have been handed down from generation to generation, preserved intact by the seclusion of the mountains. With the goal of securing her promotion, Lily ventures into the most isolated areas of the mountains to collect the songs and finds herself increasingly enchanted.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
74%
Tomatometer
Fresh

Like the main character, it's stodgy and didactic -- and full of grace and surprises.

Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader
Fresh

Songcatcher unfolds at a leisurely but enjoyable pace, its dramatic contrivances never pushed too hard by director Maggie Greenwald.

Dennis Harvey, Variety
Rotten

No matter how purely sung, the music keeps getting lost in the melodrama.

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
Fresh

A wonderfully crafted movie in a minor key.

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Fresh

Tall, big-boned Janet McTeer ... is the ideal actress to play Lily Penleric.

Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

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