A singer-songwriter, Gretta, is pained by her boyfriend, Dave who has a change of heart after his musical success. A producer, Dan, troubled, who was once well off but now fired by his partner and not even welcomed by his family. On the same day and time, they run into one another at a bar, and that was how it all started. Their main studio for making a demo tape is neither equipped nor indoor but at the back streets of the city, the roof top set in front of the Empire State of Building, and the subway station. To them, even the city noises become music, and the music turns the banalities into something special. They make songs that they earnestly want to sing, and come to seek the real usual verity to live their innate life through that unusual ways. After releasing the album, each of them returns to their own life and begins again as usual. While watching the film, as the subtitle of that, we can meditate on the question: Can a song save a life? The answer is that a song saves lives when just the lost stars, Gretta and Dan, come across.


Situation 1.
Dan drops by a bar just to be drunk and kill himself, but he is soon fascinated by Gretta’s song.
Dan offers her to make a record with him, but she refuses the offer, and they come into a conflict.

 
Dan  Listen to me. I am not saying that you can’t be a real bona fide motherfucker in this business. But you got to do whatever it takes and get people in to see your shows where the music can start to do its real work.
Gretta  Oh my God. What were we even talking about? You can’t sign me. And I don’t want to be signed.
Dan  That’s right. What’s not to like?


Situation 2.
Gretta meets Dan’s daughter, Violet. They talk about a boy whom Violet is interested in.
Gretta advices her on how to get his heart.

 
Violet  I do really like him.
Gretta  Well, then, you have to find a way to get him to ask you out.
Violet  Yes, but how?
Gretta  Well, for starters, stop dressing like you’re totally easy!
Violet  I thought this was sort of sexy. Its American Apparel.
Gretta  It is sort of sexy. It’s very, very sexy. But it doesn’t leave much to the imagination. You know?
Violet  I guess.


Situation 3.
Gretta and Dan walk along the streets of New York, listening to music and dancing.
After taking a stroll, they sit on the road and talk about the meaning of music.

 
Dan  That’s what I love about music.
Gretta  What?
Dan  One of the most banal scenes is suddenly invested with so much meaning. All these banalities suddenly turn into these, these beautiful, effervescent pearls. From music.

 
bona fide 진실된 get sb in 부르다 What’s not to like? 문맥상 ‘그래서 어쩌라고’ 정도로 해석할 수 있다 ask sb out 데이트 신청하다 apparel 의류(본문의 American Apparel은 브랜드 이름이다) sort of 다소 banal 따분한(n. banality) effervescent 기운이 넘치는 lamb 어린양 on the road 도망중인

Source: Exclusive Media Likely Story

Ham Seul-ki Reporter
hsk9409@uos.ac.kr

 

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