Inspirational Rush: Guitar Style

A few months back James and I watched a film called August Rush. We loved the story about a young boy who hears music all around him and believes that if he follows the music it will lead him to his parents from whom he was separated as a baby. He runs away from the boys’ home where he grew up and heads to New York where alone and penniless he discovers his genius for music.

As soon as the film ended we both thought that the story would appeal to the girls. We hesitated these last few months because there are some potentially distressing aspects for the children. However, we finally decided to watch it with them last weekend. We had to give them a summary of the movie before hand so that they knew all would turn out well. We also had to pause the film at various times throughout to help explain some of the plot details to them. They really enjoyed the film and were very inspired by the August’s musical talent. A great deal of this talent revolves around guitar playing (though his genius involves all music). We felt that this was the part that they would strongly connect with because guitar playing has been an interest for them for a while now. Last summer Ashley discovered a great deal about guitar playing from our friend Christian and during the Solstice festival here in Seattle last month we bought both girls little starter guitars to just play around with. As we watched it was obvious that both Ashley and Caitlin loved the inspiring story but Ashley was completely entranced by August and his talent.  She pulled out her little guitar and strummed and tapped along to the film. We are now thinking of signing the girls up for lessons. We think lessons would probably be more appropriate for Ashley given her age and attention span but Caitlin is interested too. So we are considering just signing them both up and seeing what happens.

(Spoiler alert!)
Back to the film’s content and how to judge the appropriateness for your own children or children you might view it with.

Firstly, although Ashley is six and Caitlin is five, they both know the basic facts of life. So although they don’t see any sex in the film they understand that August’s parents made a baby the one night they spent together in New York when they were drawn together by music.

Secondly, because of various fairy tales we’ve encountered, we have discussed the theme of some parents not wanting their children to do certain things or marry certain people. We discuss how: parents want the best for their children; some parents can feel that some activities or some people are not going to be the best for their children; sometimes these parents try to prevent their children for doing the thing or marrying the person. In this story August’s mother is a talented Julliard graduate who plays the cello and his father is a talented guitar player/singer in a band. August’s grandfather separates Augusts parents and then, following an accident in late pregnancy, tells his daughter the baby died and puts August up for adoption fearing a baby would prevent her from achieving her full potential. Also, August’s father doesn’t even know he exists.

Thirdly, Robin William plays a Fagan-like character (from Oliver Twist) who is himself a musician and takes August under his wing. He teaches him all he knows about music while allowing him to stay at the condemned theatre he controls, where other musical homeless children live and work for him busking on the streets of New York. He seems fond of August but ultimately is mean and somewhat menacing and wants to exploit August’s talent. If your children are familiar with Disney movies they will already have come across villains from whom the hero of the story eventually escapes or ultimately defeats. This is a good opportunity to discuss tricky people with children.

Okay, so lots of heavy life drama here and you may be wondering how this can be appropriate for young children. Well, you have to watch it first yourself to realize that a lot of this plot is very deftly presented. Its presentation may be confusing to children who probably won’t really understand, which is the perfect time to give them very simple but truthful explanations like some I described above. The music is so inspiring, and August’s search to unite his family so captivating, that this is what our girls really focused on.

I recommend that you watch this film first if you want younger children to see it and decide if it’s right for your family. Even if this wouldn’t work for your younger children, be prepared to be inspired yourself.