The Music Never Stopped

2011 "No matter how lost you are, music can bring you home."
7.5| 1h45m| PG| en
Details

Henry struggles to bond with his estranged son, Gabriel, who suffers from a brain tumor that prevents him from forming new memories. With Gabriel unable to shed the beliefs and interests that caused their physical and emotional distance, Henry must learn to embrace his son's choices and try to connect with him through music.

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Reviews

Scanialara You won't be disappointed!
Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film
Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
Matho The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
Mr Andserson Glad i took time to watch this, its these gems that make you wanna try other movies that you might haven't heard of.J.K. Simmons does a great performance as the dad, reluctantly getting to know his son again after all the years that gone by and some misunderstandings in how they actually fell apart.Have your hanger chief ready, a little tear will fall if you have any empathy.I would certainly recommend it and its a nice trip down memory lane with a lot of top notch music from the hippie days and also before that.
Musicman Surana Having music as a theme to the movie and having a look at the average user ratings I was very excited to watch this movie. When I started watching this film I got a feeling that its one of those slow emotional films where one guy is a victim to some illness & the whole story is about his family whining for his troubles.But, this feeling was very short. As the movie progressed, I could link the father-son character with my life. Even my dad & I face the similar kind of differences in opinion and taste as it has been portrayed in the movie.The setting is beautiful & has been magnificently portrayed J.K.Simmons & Lou Taylor Pucci..Very rarely do I rate a movie 10/10. I was thinking of giving it a nine by the time the movie was going to end as irrespective of the ending it was a very beautiful movie.The extra one point is courtesy the ending. Tears never stopped while I watched the ending. This movie has taught me to respect the differences that my father & have & perhaps much more than that can be explained in words...The Music Never Stopped!!!
Ralf Southard I was a child of the 60s, grew up in the 70s, made most of my life's mistakes in the 80s, but also learned an awful lot about life those three decades. That time period made me who I am today. I don't take much for granted. I played a LOT outside as a child, my mind was not desensitized by video games. My growing years were filled with music about the reason for war and the wrongs of war. Popular songs about love were poetic, meanings often hidden, and not in your face expletives.Having said all that, this movie reached me deep inside. Music was always a part of my life... from day one. My father liked Glenn Miller and my mother loved Elvis. To this day I love that music too, as well as my own preferences with which I grew up. Despite my father never liking the Beatles, they are my favorite band of all time to this day. I think he objected to their hair. My father had a 30 year career in the U.S. Army. He served at the end of WWII, the Korean conflict and Vietnam. My love of the anti-war songs were not in rebellion to what he was doing, but instead reassured everyone that we found our American soldiers more valuable than whatever it was we were fighting for in Vietnam. Now my stepson is at the end of his tour of Afghanistan. I love him dearly, and support what he does and support our troops mission, but they need to come home now. What songs today speak of our missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Libyan conflict? It's just not the same.In the 70s, besides never setting the Beatles aside, I loved CSN, CCR, Joni Mitchell and most of the artists who took part in Woodstock back in 1969, as well as all the great bands and singer/songwriters that followed. Songs of peace, love and understanding.I became a DJ at age 16 and after disco unfortunately changed everything and college was over, I worked a couple of years as a roadie and eventually became a musician as well.I put my guitar down around 1990 and didn't pick it up again in seriousness until 2007. That period includes probably the darkest period in my life. I will never set music aside again.Should I, God forbid, suffer the plight of the main character in this movie, my wife knows what music to play.I didn't feel the need to review this film as a critic, because my experience with this film was more emotional than intellectual. If you don't have instant recollection of a moment in your past whenever you hear a certain song, this movie is not for you. However, if you do have a solid connection between music and a memory, don't miss this film.Julia Ormond was good in this film as the doctor that finds the connection. However, the real stars are the lesser known J.K. Simmons and Lou Taylor Pucci who did an incredible job of showing the differences in generations and how the tables can turn when your ears and your heart open up to something new or something you hated because of lack of understanding. I think in all of life's steps on the road through life, denial is the most destructive.Don't view this movie technically, you'll miss the point. Open your heart and your soul, and you'll get it. Enjoy.
gradyharp Oliver Sacks, M.D. is a physician and professor of neurology and psychiatry at the Columbia University Medical Center. In 2007, he was named the first Columbia University Artist, in recognition of his contributions to the arts. THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED is an adaptation (by Gwyn Lurie and Gary Marks) of "The Last Hippie", a short story/essay from Sacks' "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat", a collection of case history stories. Dr. Sacks is a neurologist who has spent his career diagnosing, evaluating, and treating a variety of neurological disorders (and the oftentimes the profound personality shifts that resulted in brain injury or trauma). This information provides a bit of reality ground to the film and makes it all the more important to see and respect. As directed by Jim Kohlberg, this film is a quiet, reverent, at times disturbing exploration of the many aspects of brain function and malfunction and an example of adaptation to these challenges. Gabriel Sawyer (Lou Taylor Pucci) was a bright youngster in the 1070s when the Vietnam war was altering the nation's perception of right and wrong as expressed in the music of Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Cream, the Beatles, etc. Longing to be a professional musician he foregoes his parent's wishes that he attend college and with regret leaves his girlfriend Tamara (Tammy Blanchard) and takes off for New York's Greenwich Village. Fast forward to 1986 and Gabriel is hospitalized for an enormous brain tumor, surgically removed, but leaving Gabriel without the ability to remember. At this point Gabriel's parents are located and his father Henry (J.K. Simmons) and mother Helen (Cara Seymour) visit him in the hospital, longing to reconnect with the son that has been absent for fifteen years. The lack of memory emphasizes the schism between Henry and Gabriel and Henry's depressed state results in his being placed on sick leave from his successful job to deal with the trauma of his family. Music having been so important to Gabriel as young man introduces the music therapist Dianne Daley (Julia Ormond) who meticulously follows the cues form Gabriel's attention span and is able to open the doorway to his memory loss through his love of the music of his time. Henry latches on to this and decides the only way he will be able to rebuild the broken fence of his relationship to Gabriel will be through music and together the two find connection despite the neurological blockades. The cast is exemplary: J.K. Simmons is splendid as the father, Cara Seymour makes the mother wholly credible, Julia Ormond gives a selfless, fine performance, and Lou Taylor Pucci brings life to the long injured Gabriel. The music is by the recordings of the period with special music supplied by Paul Cantelon. Stephen Kazmierski's camera work allows almost unbearably touching close-ups of each of the actors that open the story for us. This is a film based on a true case history, but this is also a story that is immensely touching and uplifting simply from the way it has been written, directed and acted. Grady Harp