Hero #097: Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? … (02/26/16)
Released in 2000, “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” is an adventure comedy film written, produced, edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Set in rural Mississippi during the Great Depression, the film’s story is a modern satire loosely based on Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey. It follows the tale of three verbally proficient yet intellectually challenged escaped convicts as they simultaneously (and most metaphorically) run from the authorities while seeking a buried treasure that is non-existent. Along the way, of course — just like the rest of us ultimately will, they end up rediscovering what life’s real Treasure truly is.
Interestingly enough, according to the Coen brothers, Tim Blake Nelson (who played Delmar O’Donnell in the film, and who has a degree in Classics from Brown University) was the only person on the entire movie set who had actually read Homer’s Odyssey in its entirety.
Much of the music used in the film is period folk music, and the truly splendid soundtrack received much-deserved notoriety after the release of the film. The movie was also the first to extensively use digital color correction to give the scenes a sepia-tinted glow.
“You seek a great fortune, and you will find a fortune, though it will not be the fortune you seek. But first … first you must travel a long and difficult road; a road fraught with peril … I cannot tell you how long this road shall be, but fear not the obstacles in your path, for fate has vouchsafed your reward. Though the road may wind, yea, and though your hearts might grow weary, still shall ye follow that road, even unto your salvation.” ~ Joel & Ethan Coen
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