Songcatcher

Songcatcher (2001) starring Janet McTeer, Aidan Quinn. Musicologist Lily Penleric (McTeer) visits her sister in Appalachia, discovers a treasure trove of Scots-Irish ballads which have been preserved for hundreds of years by the hill people. The songs she finds are previously unknown to the outside world, and she immediately knows that she wants to collect them and publish them. The road is not smooth, however, as the backward ways of some of the mountain folk get in the way, and Lily's colleagues back in civilization try to steal her discovery. This movie does not have a "happy ending" in the usual sense, but it's still worth seeing, if only for the music. The subtitles are very good -- all the songs are subtitled, which makes it very enjoyable. Grade: B+