Brassed Off [Region 2]

Brassed Off [Region 2] Review

I’ve seen this movie twice now on satellite, and haven’t tired of it. There’s a lot to like. After a heavy dose of Transporter 1 through 25, Fast and Furious, various Star Treks, Star Wars, and gritty spy killing spy flicks, this is a wonderful little dose of reality – gee, I actually can sit through a thoughtful film without car chases, heroes without superpowers, and no one dangling from a helicopter getting shot at by a chain gun. Sounds un-American. That being said, this is a nicely acted, sensibly filmed story with a happy ending sandwiched in an unhappy circumstance. The actors even look like real people, even the lovely Tara Fitzgerald (every town has at least one beauty, right?) It gives the viewer a sense that amidst chaos, something lovely can still be born. The music is great. It makes me wonder why American brass bands can’t do what brass bands do best – give you some real toe tapping tunes. The local university has a pretty good band, but what do we hear at half-time? We Will, We Will Rock You. C’mon! Surprise us! Turn our heads! The Grimethorpe Colliery Band is one of the best. They first came to my notice in a Disney film about pit ponys. It was another bittersweet tale about coal mining in the north of Britain when pony’s pulled the carts and never saw the light of day, doing their jobs and trudging the tracks back to their subterranean mangers for a bit of sweet hay from a world they’d never see or taste again. Grimethorpe did the track for that one too, and it made me stay to the end of the credits to see who played that great music. A big thumbs up to the Brits for still creating films that make us think and feel without gut-churning special effects, and reminding us that you don’t need an electric guitar to make great music, and the world is populated with people like you and I, people who pack trombones and trumpets, not machineguns and grenades.

Brassed Off [Region 2] Overview

Take The Full Monty, add a sharper emotional edge, and replace the strutting strippers with a dignified British band. That’s the essence of Brassed Off, a bittersweet gem released in 1996, a year before its more popular (and Oscar-nominated) counterpart. In the Yorkshire town of Grimley, there has always been a coal mine, just as for the last 111 years there has been a brass band, and it seems that Danny (the wondrous Pete Postlethwaite) has been the director for every one of those years. Tory economic policies, however, are closing coal mines around the country in favor of nuclear power, and Grimley appears to be next on the list. Danny is unfazed by the threat, claiming, “It’s music that matters.” But some of the men are about to quit the band until the appearance of Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald at her most radiant), who dazzles the all-male group (including old flame Andy, played by Ewan McGregor) first with her beauty, then with her flügelhorn playing. The new member gives the band a boost as they continue to perform and compete, but closure remains very real, as director Mark Herman (Little Voice) accompanies the band’s performances (played with gusto by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band) with scenes of angry labor-management confrontations and family strife. In this context, some of the characters claim that the music is an irresponsible form of escapism. It becomes clear, however, from a touching performance of “Danny Boy” to the stirring conclusion at Royal Albert Hall, that music is an expression of the human spirit, a bit of beauty and sanity in a harsh world. With defiance, the band can play “Land of Hope and Glory,” even when the land offers them neither. –David Horiuchi

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