Nashville Film Festival 2021 Preview: Invisible, Clara Sola and Four More Highlights

The 52nd Nashville Film Festival, which kicks off Thursday, September 30th, and runs through Wednesday, October 6th, aims to showcase the beauty of its city like never before. In-person screenings will be held at various iconic cultural venues throughout Nashville, rather than the usual multiplexes, while live musical performances are guaranteed to further enliven the proceedings. A total of 150 films—both feature-length selections and shorts—will screen during this week, with many titles available to stream at home (click here for the full lineup). Kicking off the festival on opening night will be Brent Wilson’s documentary about one of the towering geniuses in American music, “Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road,” which will be shown at 6:30pm at the concert venue Rocketown, 601 4th Ave. S. Though the film’s director is not related to his titular subject, despite their shared last name, this feels like the sort of picture a protective family member would’ve made about the visionary Beach Boys songwriter and his struggles with schizoaffective disorder, since it doesn’t dig deep enough into its fascinating subject matter, most of which was powerfully dramatized in Bill Pohlad’s 2014 film, “Love & Mercy.” Of course, the film is worth seeing simply for the time it allows us to share with Brian Wilson himself, as he revisits cherished tunes on a pleasant if not all that illuminating car ride with his pal, Rolling Stone editor Jason Fine. When Fine informs him that his band’s one-time manager Jack Rieley passed away years ago, you can see Wilson’s heart breaking in real time.

While the Brian Wilson profile will likely be an essential watch for music fans, I made a point of viewing six other selections for this preview piece that are even better, starting with T.J. Parsell’s episodic, uplifting documentary, “Invisible,” which shines a light on various female musicians whose sexual orientation resulted in them being persecuted in Nashville. Some of the most moving scenes center on Dianne Davidson, an extraordinary singer/songwriter who landed a publishing deal at age 16 and toured with legends the likes of Linda Ronstadt and the Moody Blues. But when she dared to pen her first lesbian love song, she found that her career was over at the mere age of 21. Among the lovely songs we get to hear in full during the second half of Parsell’s film, none are quite as indelible as the one Davidson performs with Ronstadt at the retired Grammy-winner’s home. Now that Parkinson’s has robbed Ronstadt of her singing voice, she likes to invite friends over to sing for her, and when Davidson delivers her splendid rendition of “Sixty-Minute Man,” Ronstadt spontaneously joins her for a duet, proving she can still harmonize, albeit at a lower volume. Rather than resign herself to a life in the shadows, Davidson is the proud mother of an adopted son from Kazakhstan and has decided to record a new album so that she can sing for those who, like Ronstadt, no longer can. “Invisible” is full of bittersweet stories like these, and it ranks alongside Morgan Neville’s “20 Feet from Stardom” as well as Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck’s “Shut Up & Sing” in its insightful tribute to unsung artistry and rousing courage. 

“Invisible” screens at 7pm on Tuesday, October 5th, at Marathon Music Works, 1402 Clinton St., and is available to stream from 10am on Thursday, September 30th, to 11:59am on Wednesday, October 6th.

Sometimes all it takes is a single song to birth a film in the imagination of its creator. Aimee Mann’s haunting rock number “Deathly” famously inspired Paul Thomas Anderson’s audacious screen epic “Magnolia,” so much so that a slightly altered version of its opening line found its way into the mouth of the film’s heroine, played unforgettably by Melora Walters. Now Walters is among the fabulous supporting cast in Justin Corsbie’s thoroughly entertaining narrative feature debut, “Hard Luck Love Song,” which is directly inspired by Todd Snider’s song, “Just Like Old Times.” We see Snider performing his endearing tune over the end credits, and it does indeed hit many of the plot points in Corsbie’s picture as it tracks the misadventures of an ingratiating hustler, Jesse (played in the film by Michael Dorman). One of the best scenes in the movie is spawned from a verse that draws laughter from the crowd, where Jesse manages to sweet talk his way out of trouble when confronted by a cop (Brian Sacca). The self-destructive nature of Jesse’s character, riding high on his lucky streak, has us perpetually perched on the edge of our seats, waiting for the other shoe to drop. When it finally does, the film succumbs to silliness and opts for escapism, despite the fact that its strongest moments suggest a more challenging third act for its protagonist. Yet there is no denying the film’s appeal as a star showcase for Dorman, who is a lot of fun to watch as he gives free hugs as a way of sharing his gratitude, while gliding through life like a tumblin’ tumbleweed. “Thought I’d catch you before you blew away again,” his old flame says, waiting outside his room at the Tumble Inn. 

“Hard Luck Love Song” is available to stream from 10am on Thursday, September 30th, to 11:59pm on Wednesday, October 6th.

The opening shot of “Porcupine” finds its main character, Audrey (the ever-sublime Jena Malone), bent over and apparently crying before she thrusts her head back to reveal she’s actually laughing. It’s a fitting way for M. Cahill’s second feature as writer/director, following 2007’s “King of California,” to begin as it proceeds to continue playing with our expectations. With her hair dyed blonde, Malone exudes an effervescent charm evocative of “You’ve Got Mail”-era Meg Ryan, as Audrey remains steadfast in her desire to be a fixer, even with her job, boyfriend and apartment all spiraling out of her grasp. Her addiction to cute animal videos on her phone has us assuming that she’ll eventually be adopting an adult dog. Instead, she puts herself up for adoption—despite the fact her parents are still alive, though emotionally distant—leading to a hilarious montage of awkward parental dates. Eventually, she finds the ideal father figure in Otto (Robert Hunger-Bühler), whose initial thorniness causes him to resemble the human equivalent of the film’s titular animal. He is downright snobbish about his knowledge as an aeronautical engineer, but as he and Audrey grow closer, he develops true paternal feelings for her, to the point where his own children start to feel left out. Otto reminded me of the longtime building manager at my Chicago apartment who immigrated from Europe, isn’t prone to small talk and has a rare devotion to his tenants. I even enjoyed how Cahill decides to end the film by simply cutting to black rather than needlessly tying up the remaining loose ends, much like how my building manager promptly leaves the room after his work is finished.