O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Released 2000
Stars George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Charles Durning, John Goodman, Michael Badalucco, Holly Hunter
Directed by Joel Coen

The opening titles inform us that the Coen Brothers' "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" is based on Homer's The Odyssey. The Coens claimed their "Fargo" was based on a true story, but later confided it wasn't; this time they confess they haven't actually read The Odyssey. Still, they've absorbed the spirit. Like its inspiration, this movie is one darn thing after another.

The film is a Homeric journey through Mississippi during the Depression--or rather, through all of the images of that time and place that have been trickling down through pop culture ever since. Bluegrass music is at the heart of the film, 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. The movie's title is lifted from Preston Sturges' 1941 comedy "Sullivan's Travels," and from Homer we get a Cyclops, sirens bathing on rocks, a hero named Ulysses, and his wife Penny, which is no doubt short for Penelope.

Summary by Roger Ebert

I've read enough of "The Odyssey" to be familiar with the major elements, and it's fun to watch the Coen Brothers transfer it to Mississippi during the Depression. Many of the major plot points (with the notable exception of the ending) are similar to the Greek classic, but there are two other aspects that make it great: the dialogue and the music. The dialogue is a blast and is as much fun as "Raising Arizona." The soundtrack, on the other hand, is both haunting and exhilarating. The perfect example is the baptism scene, with the ghostly figures singing on their way to the river. It gave me goosebumps. I also loved the "Soggy Bottom Boys" version of "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow." I'm not a bluegrass fan, but I fell in love with this soundtrack. --Bill Alward, August 1, 2001