August Rush

August Rush is the story of an orphan boy in the custody of New York State who hears music always. He is convinced that the music would call out to his parents if they could just hear what is inside of him. He hears music constantly, so his parents must be musicians. He could call out to them with his music and they would know that it was him. He runs away from the Boy’s Home that he is in to go to the city to find his parents. That is what the music told him to do. While he is there, he meets a child street musician and is introduced to the Wizard who immediately picks up that he is a child prodigy. When the cops come and raid the place where the Wizard and the other childhood street performers, Evan wanders around and comes across a church choir rehearsal. He sleeps underneath the bed of a black girl that night and the next morning starts playing the pipe organ after spending just a few moments touching the keys. The little girl goes and gets the Reverend of the church to listen to Evan play and immediately the reverend enrolls him into Julliard. He enters his Rhapsody into a competition and it gets picked to be played in the park by the New York Philharmonic. He is taken by the Wizard during rehearsals and taken back into his care. On the night of his big debut, he is performing as a street performer for the Wizard and the man who is Evan’s father stops to play with him and tells him not to give up on his music. He escapes from the Wizard to conduct his rhapsody and find his parents.

1. What was your initial or immediate reaction to the film? Why do you think you reacted that way? What in the film prompted this reaction?

The initial response to the film was one of fond memories of childhood and growing up in the house with an art music composer for a father. Evan, the main character in the movie, believes that he will be able to find his parents if he just plays the music that he finds within him. They will hear the music and come find