It’s not easy for an outsider to show up in town and start asking questions. It’s even worse if you’re doing it so you can write a book. John M. Keller’s feature film, Her Song, shows that friendship can blossom and real connections can form even when you don’t expect them.
Olivia (Kalki Koechlin) and Madeline (Eléa Clair) are sitting together at the kitchen table. Madeline begins to tell an old story about a woman in Africa who wanted a child so badly that she gave the baby its own song. Before the baby was even conceived, she sang the song under a tree as a meditation. She taught it to her lover and sang it during conception, while the baby was in the womb, at birth, and as the child grew.
Our protagonist, Olivia, is a Franco-American writer who returns to her grandmother’s village in the south of France. She is there to research and find inspiration for a book about her grandmother’s life in France during World War II. As Olivia fights through writer’s block, the cloud of COVID looms overhead. It’s just starting to make headlines, so her hypochondriac husband, Dave (Zach Grenier), is unable to meet her in France as planned, and the town is preparing for social distancing.
Now forced to sit and write during lockdown, Olivia begins to weave conversations she has with Madeline, a herder named Julien (Julien Jacob), and other people in town into her grandmother’s story. With every page, Madeline is unknowingly being pulled into the book. So, is this a book about Madeline or Olivia’s grandmother?
“Now forced to sit and write during lockdown, Olivia begins to weave conversations she has with Madeline…and other people in town into her grandmother’s story.”
It’s funny. I came into this story looking for huge stakes. A story of a writer who resorts to exploiting the villagers of a small French town, only to discover she has the most to learn. But no, we don’t always have to search for the worst in people. It’s much more about the creative process. Olivia tries to tell her grandmother’s story, but massive gaps remain. So she stays in her grandmother’s home for an extended visit, only to find bright, fascinating people facing the same conflicts today that her grandmother faced years ago. As a result, Olivia builds deep and long-lasting friendships.
It shouldn’t be this hard for me to embrace goodness in a story. It’s not writer/director John M. Keller’s fault. It’s today’s culture, which automatically pits us against one another. Once you shake off these feelings, Her Song becomes a story of friendship, and Madeline’s life ultimately sparks a deeper bond. I also loved the story of motherhood that slips in and lands at the end.
Kalki Koechlin and Eléa Clair are superb as our leads, and their performances are further bolstered by Zach Grenier’s arrival in the third act. My only qualm is that I’m growing tired of COVID as a plot device. Maybe we need more time.
In the end, John M. Keller’s Her Song reminds us that we all used to like one another and that friendship comes when we are truly interested in another person’s life. Even if it’s just for a book, it’s still a start.
For screening information, visit the Her Song official website.
"…reminds us that we all used to like one another..."
