Songs My Brothers Taught Me
| Songs My Brothers Taught Me | |
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| Directed by | Chloé Zhao |
| Produced by | Forest Whitaker |
| Written by | Chloé Zhao |
| Starring | John Reddy JaShaun St. John |
| Cinematography | Joshua James Richards |
| Edited by | Alan Canant Chloé Zhao |
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Release date
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Running time
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98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $146,476 |
Songs My Brothers Taught Me is a 2015 American drama film written and directed by Chloé Zhao and produced by Forest Whitaker. It is Zhao's debut feature film and was developed in Sundance Institute workshops. The film, set on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, explores the bond between a Lakota Sioux brother and his younger sister.
The film premiered in the US Dramatic Competition at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. It was later screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
JaShaun Winters and John Winters are two full siblings, living with their mother, Lisa (Irene Bedard) on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. John illegally distributes alcohol to fellow residents to support his family. He is just about to graduate from high school and plans to leave the reservation to go to Los Angeles with his girlfriend, Aurelia (Taysha Fuller). Nervous about leaving he visits his brother, Cody, who is in prison and who urges John to leave.
Carl Winters, their father, dies in an accidental house fire. The siblings go to his funeral, along with their mother, which is crowded as Carl had 25 children with 9 women. At the funeral the children talk amongst themselves. Some of the siblings chose not to take Carl's name as he was not around for most of their lives.
John goes to the café where Aurelia works taking JaShaun with him. Getting bored and lonely while waiting for them, JaShaun goes to the back of the café where they are kissing and overhears them talking about moving away together.
JaShaun decides to get a job, helping Travis, an artist, newly freed from prison, sell his wares. He tells her that the reason the number 7 keeps recurring is because of its religious and cultural significance but also because Crazy Horse said everything ended at Wounded Knee but would begin again in the 7th generation which is JaShaun's generation.
John breaks the news that he is moving to be with Aurelia to her family and they are unimpressed as he will have no place to live and no job. While out on an alcohol run he is attacked by rival bootleggers and his car is blown up.
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