Yesterday

I usually avoid movies with the theme of music, classical music in particular--with the exception, of course, of Amadeus. I just can't quite adapt myself to seeing Gary Oldman in the role of Beethoven though I loved him in The Professional and The Fifth Element. Last night, however, I watched a music-themed movie with some enjoyment: Yesterday on Netflix. If you haven't seen it already, without giving too much away, a strange power failure shuts down all civilization for twelve seconds during which a young musician, cycling in the dark, runs into a bus and mashes up his face. Recovering in the hospital, he starts to notice something odd: no-one seems to have heard of The Beatles nor recognizes any of their songs. Coke also seems to have disappeared from the culture as well as a couple of other things.

The big plus for our young musician, a failed folk-singer, is that since he is the only one who remembers the songs (with a couple of exceptions I will not share), he can pretend that they are his songs and achieve great fame. Mind you, he does have some doubts, but the lure of fame is hard to resist.

There are lots of clever twists and a lovely satire of the fame-development machine that make the unfolding of the story quite fun. There is also an excellent plot surprise towards the end that I won't reveal. But while the movie is clever, it is founded on some romantic themes that some might find hackneyed but others might find authentic. Love or career is the fundamental tension and well, yes, this can be a significant element in many musician's lives. I suppose what the movie leaves out is that for many musicians, they don't really have a choice--music rather takes over their lives for better or worse.

What did you think of the movie?