Hello all! Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I love to buddy watch movies together – even though I am in Michigan and she is in Pennsylvania! We don’t literally watch together in a watch party, although that might be fun one time! We wanted our fall list to feel fall cozy, move into some more chilling movies, than turn cozy again for November.

What a “note” to end on! I loved this movie the first time we watched it, and I loved it just as much this time around. I am not a boat person, despite being from the Great Lakes State, but I am drawn to stories of the sea and water nonetheless. My mother’s family were all shipbuilders, in Michigan and back in England, so maybe some of that is just in my blood. I also once had a palm reader in New Orleans tell me that I was once a ship captain who went down with his ship, so there is that fun little story as well. Anyway, I like a sea shanty and a good fisherman story, and Wyatt does as well. He watched this with us for the most part last night and really enjoyed all the singing parts.

Anyway, I am getting way off course here. Our movie feature this week was Fisherman’s Friends. Find Lisa’s post here!

This movie is based on a true story, about a group of fisherman from Cornwall who were signed by Universal Records for their folk singing abilities. Who would have thought that in this day and age that such a folksy, working class type group could achieve top ten status? But they did. I think it just shows how people do appreciate and crave community and joy and just real people doing real things. Not everything has to be manufactured and aesthetic. Although, this look is pretty aesthetic among some people. I mean who doesn’t love the idea of sitting by the sea in a thick fisherman’s sweater, enjoying some soup and a pint? My own husband asks the barber for “more sea captain, less lumberjack” when he goes to the barber for a beard trim, so apparently he is into that look himself!

Samuel Goldwyn Films summarizes this movie as:

A fast living, cynical London music executive (Daniel Mays) heads to a remote Cornish village on a stag weekend where he’s pranked by his boss (Noel Clarke) into trying to sign a group of shanty singing fishermen (led by James Purefoy). He becomes the ultimate “fish out of water” as he struggles to gain the respect or enthusiasm of the unlikely boy band and their families (including Tuppence Middleton) who value friendship and community over fame and fortune. As he’s drawn deeper into the traditional way of life he’s forced to reevaluate his own integrity and ultimately question what success really means.

I think a lot of the movie is yes, Danny’s transformation and growth, from a “Peter Pan” type of adult man child still trying to hold onto his youth, into one that is responsible and knows what real work looks like. Not that people who work in offices or as executives or whatever don’t do work, my own husband is an office worker and he works HARD, but for the purposes of this movie, work for Danny is all just fun and games, all about making money and making a profit and finding the next big group. When he meets the fisherman in Cornwall however, he sees what family is like, loyal men who risk their lives for their jobs and their families, a sense of community that pulls together and cares about one another. Life has its fun moments, but it is not just all a big lark.

Jim (played by James Purefoy) and his family are the central moving forces in this movie. Jim is the most salty of the crew, and he works with his father Jacob, and his mother works at the local pub, which is a beloved spot in their little port town. His daughter Alwyn (played by Tuppence Middleton, no relation to Kate because I looked it up) and her daughter Tamsin live with Jim and run a Bed and Breakfast.

The heart of this movie, borrowing from a line said by Alwyn about the town, are the people. The stories, the community, the friendships. The shared history. The singing of sea shanties is just one way that share joy and sorrow. Music conveys so much emotion for all occasions, doesn’t it? These songs also are part of their history, of all fisherman who have gone before them, some are silly, some are sad.

When I was a little girl, my parents played the Irish Rovers on our record player weekly, probably daily. My mom would pick me up and spin me around and around the floor as she danced, singing along with the songs of the Rovers. I knew the words to Drunken Sailor and The Unicorn and all of those good old songs by the time I was four, and my very earliest memories, those blurry ones that don’t seem real that happen before you are even 2 or 3, include some of these songs and moments. Songs transport you through time and space, and as Alwyn says in this movie, people want to hear Fisherman’s Friends sing their shanties not for the high notes, but to be transported to the high seas.

I can just imagine living somewhere where the waves break against the land, where the wind blows salt in your eyes and face, rocky beaches where you can have a fire and a cup of tea and maybe some stew made from what is gathered from the sea. That is where we are transported when we hear these songs; or maybe a pub, filled with laughter and camraderie.

There are so many scenes in the pub, singing and laughing and just so joyful. I already shared an early memory; here is one of my happiest. When Billy and I were younger and not yet parents, we took a trip to Shenandoah with my brother and sister-in-law, and would spend the nights in the pub at Big Meadows. And it was just like the scenes in the movie. A folk singer was on stage, leading the crowd in singing those songs we all know by heart. By the time we were ready to leave, the night was pitch black and being on the top of a mountain, we would walk out and the sky was filled with stars, and there was a slight fog creeping up, and it was just one of those perfect moments in time.

Anyway, this movie review turned into more of a post about me and my memories. I think though, that that is the type of movie this is. We think of our own friends, our own communities, and music and how it moves through us, taking us places. It moves us, and it reminds us.

This week I will leave you with a few songs. One by the actual Fisherman’s Friends, another I just love.

And stay tuned!!! Comfy Cozy Christmas is coming up on both of our blogs! We are going to post one giant linky for anyone who wants to post anything about the holidays – not just Christmas, we are inclusive of all, but we just are nerdy little alliteration lovers, so Comfy Cozy Christmas it is. It can be anything from baking to decorating to movies to just anything holiday related. So look for that coming soon! I have a special page just for this, just keep watching that space as we get closer to December! Lisa and I plan on buddy watching a movie or two, and then soloing it the rest of the month!

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