August Rush
2007 · Directed by Kirsten Sheridan
Original language: English
- family
- drama
- music
The story
Evan, a musically gifted orphan, runs away from his orphanage and searches New York City for his birth parents. On his journey, he's taken under the wing of the Wizard, a homeless man who lives in an abandoned theater. After discovering his talent, the Wizard gives Evan the name "August Rush" and devises a plan to profit from his talent. Little does Evan know that his parents, Lyla and Louis, are searching for him too.
What it’s like
Warm, saturated New York in August Rush: golden late-afternoon light spilling over brownstone stoops, rain-slicked streets turning to neon and headlight glow after dark, and a camera that drifts and swoops through the city in fluid, music-led movement. Sound does most of the work. Orchestral swells, guitar strums and street-level rhythms layer into one another, and the score lets quiet piano and strings bloom into full crescendos, so the whole film feels like it is humming. The vibe is sentimental, hopeful and a little fairy-tale, with a dreamy romantic ache running under the city noise. It suits a rainy Sunday, a comfort rewatch, or an evening when you want something uplifting that wears its heart on its sleeve. The pacing is brisk and buoyant, with emotional beats arriving on the music's cue. Its people are a gifted, wide-eyed boy and two adults pulled apart by a lie, slowly converging toward each other through chance encounters and faith in their own instincts. Intensity is low: some peril and a tense street-life atmosphere, a few sad moments around loss and an orphanage, but no graphic violence, no gore, and little that is frightening. It is for people who want a music-soaked, reassuring romance and a bit of big-hearted magic.
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