Spirit of Guitar

Authors: Sergio Requejo
Location: Seville, Spain

"Spirit of Guitar”

Directed by Lawrence Kasdan
Written by Lawrence Kasdan, Meg Kasdan
Music by Thomas Newman

Principal Cast:

Demi Moore (Grace Melford)
Sharon Stone (Lila Lee)
David Strathairn (George Melford)
Aaron Eckhart (Martin)
Gena Rowlands (Lorraine)
Keanu Reeves (Angeni)
Jordana Brewster (Sarah Melford)

Tagline: "Spirit makes us different, until we lose it"

Synopsis: Grace has been fired, she is a middle age single mother. Things don't look good. Looking for a new job in the newspaper she accidentally finds that her ex-husband, George, has died. He escaped ten years before taking their daughter (Sarah) with him. In the note appears the name of a small town, lost in the middle of nowhere, called "Guitar". After several years looking for her daughter and without knowing anything of both, Grace sees the opportunity to be able to recover Sarah and she hesitates not even a moment to leave everything to make a long trip by car up to Guitar with her ten-year-old son.

When Grace arrives to town the funeral has been celebrated and she decides to stay and investigate the life of her ex-husband just to find her daughter. Grace looks for housing and a new job in a bar called "The Nun", managed by a former country singer Lila Lee, withdrawn from the world of the spectacle after a showy accident that destroyed her right leg. Lila has a very strong character due to the multiple operations she has submitted, but Grace's help will create a great affective dependence that will turn them into friends and confidants.

Grace will gain the confidence and the respect of the villagers: Angeni, a Native American Indian that lives isolated from the world in a cabin (and in love with Sarah); Martin, the teacher; and Lorraine, Martin's mother and clandestine clairvoyant. Grace encourages Lila to sing again and organizes a small regional festival of music. Martin wins the festival showing his endowments as a singer and guitar player, trying to inspire love in Grace. But she still drags with her ghosts from the past represented by the continued presence of her dead husband George, with whom she supports long conversations that help her to solve the clues of his life. When Grace finally tells the real story to Martin and his mother, they confess her that they knew her husband and daughter. He had a relationship with Lila when he arrived to town and she was a mother for his daughter until the day she disappeared. Lila confesses that the day of the fatal accident Sarah was useful to escape from the tyranny of her father. Both women join to make a long trip to find their lost daughter together.

What the press would say:

Thought initially as a low budget (and straight to video) movie, the project was acquiring increasingly interest from Miramax, once concluded the script. The story shows some very complex figures and full of shades, and it's rare that the weight of the action was relapsing into two middle-aged women whose life has not treated very well. The election of the actresses was not accepted very well at first, but their constant interest and the reduction of their salary help them in the final election. Lawrence Kasdan moves away from the epic in favour of the plot, returning to his first works (Grand Canyon, The Big Chill…). Both actresses, who have worked together in Emilio Estevez's "Bobby", were joking about the change of roles with regard to the previous movie. "I was pleased with the idea that now she was working for me and that I was the famous singer, it was fair" - Stone commented. The project continued joining more actors in love with a simple script that turns into a deep analysis of human motivations. Actors like David Strathairn, who plays Moore's dead husband, define it as an ironic drama, with ordinary people who do not understand life and who are always wondering things without response. The result is a surprising movie, without pretensions, supported by great interpretations (mainly Moore and Stone). Demi Moore is perfect in the most complex role of her career. She is the conductive thread of the plot, being able to build a solid character with a great charisma.

FYC:

Best Picture
Best Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Best screenplay: Lawrence and Meg Kasdan
Best actress: Demi Moore
Best supporting actress: Sharon Stone, Gena Rowlands
Best supporting actor: David Strathairn, Aaron Eckhart, Keanu Reeves
Best score: Thomas Newman
Best Song: "Nun's lullaby"performed by k.d. Lang