We watched 'Nashville' again this week (2014), which I saw when it was new in 1977. I think it's Altman's masterpiece, a powerful & affecting tribute to country music, a sideswipe at the music & media industry, & an atmospheric elegy to an innocence that was departing post-Watergate & post-Vietnam, dancing, as so often with Altman, on the verge of chaos. Excellent performances, & Ronee Blakley is luminous as a fragile, gifted country singer. One to watch again.
At first, this film feels a little scattershot. The theme of the film is the spirit of Nashville itself and how music and entertainment are used by politicians to curry favour with the electorate. Over 20 characters are connected to each other just by the fact they live and work around the same places but there is no meaningful depth to their interaction. They are just people getting on with their lives. It all coalesces at the end when they are all together at a political rally.
What makes this film exceptional is that the film stays with you long after the credits roll. Altman was trying to say a lot about American culture and human beings. What makes us tick, what we look to our music stars and what we project on them for inspiration when these people are just as broken. The ending of the film is perfect. Not being a fan of Country and Western I was shocked by how good and meaningful the music is. I recommend you turn the volume up when you watch it to get the most from the music. The Blu Ray quality is exceptional.
This is a masterful film because it says so much and lets you do all the work in understanding the subtext.