Released on Netflix on April 8th, Metal Lords has made a lot of talk about itself, albeit for the wrong reasons. Critics and fans alike watched the film as its production included the names of Game of Thrones authors David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. However, the film’s appeal far exceeds Curriculum From its producers: Metal Lords is a gentle maturation based on metal, who knows how to conquer audiences with constant quotes from the best rock music of the past decades and a story that entertains, fascinates and even moves. Watch metal mastershowever, it also means one run Long series of comparisons with the school of rockthe musical training film par excellence, directed by Richard Linklater that has now become a cult film for generations.
Metal is strength, metal is speed
The There are a lot of similarities between Metal Lords and School of Rockso much so that at various moments the work of Peter Solett appears (Free – love, justice and equality) draws largely from the narrative and style cliches introduced by Linklater only twenty years ago.
For example, as in traditional musical films, both films Built around gang warfare, which becomes an occasion for the rapid maturation of the group made up of the protagonists of the novel. The musical challenge is certainly the driver for both productions, who use the event as the engine of their entire narrative. To change, however, the main characters in the two films. In case school of rockActually, At the heart of the story is an adultPlayed by Jack Black in a state of grace, it was no surprise that he identified the school of rock as the pinnacle of his career. In case metal mastersOn the other hand, the absolute heroes are three 16-year-olds, Kevin (Jaden Martell), Hunter (Adrian Greensmith) and Emily (Isis Hensworth).
The big difference between the two films is in fact that one has its protagonist, a man who is facing a late transition towards maturity imposed by society, while the other is about Identity formation process for three teenagerswith all the accessories connected to the case, between first love, school rivalry and friendships that form and break.
For the adult eye, the plot metal masters They look trivial and stereotypical, with situations that are somewhat predictable and in some respects semi-obvious. backwards, school of rock It has a more mature and complete history, though Jack Black co-stars at the age of 10, whose fluctuations seem far from the adult world. On the other hand, the incredible ability to address an audience across generations is one of Richard Linklater’s strong points: if you want to know more, we invite you to read our review of the school of rock. On the contrary, the production signed by Benioff and Weiss failed to separate itself from the label A movie made for a very small audienceand its purpose more than anything else to propose a teen drama An alternative to the emotionally high-rated titles already in abundance on Netflix: Even then, however, you can read our review of Metal Lords. What the two titles have in common, net of tremendous stylistic, narrative and qualitative differences, is a Very strong love for rock musicwhich in the case of metal masters It is clearly charged with a precise “extreme” connotation.
The musical passion of the authors of the two films is very evident in two very similar scenes: they are actually very brief moments, but they take the plunge because they They break up the narration with educational lists of songs and albums to listen to. So while at the School of Rock, “Master” Dewey Finn recommends bands like Airshipme Deep Purple Which queenThe (very long) list that Hunter gave Kevin includes groups of caliber motorheadsubordinate black sabbathsubordinate iron maiden and the gods Priest Judas.
It only takes a little to know what Dewey and Hunter give away It’s actually “homework” for the spectatorsa series of songs that, in addition to composing the soundtrack for the production in question, must be listened to after seeing to understand the reasons behind the existence of these two films, which undoubtedly stemmed from an ardent love of rock music.
grew up with music
On the other hand, analysis of the vast panorama of Coming of age More and less modern, we can’t help but notice that music plays a central role in composition and in The individual cultural background of each teenagerat least according to US administrators.
Consider Richard Linklater’s production, full of upcoming movies, starting with boyhoodnominated for an Academy Award in 2014, passing through the beautiful Everyone wants somethingfor 2016, to reach the spiritual introduction to the latter, Life is a dream (1993) et al Very modern Apollo 10 and a halfAlso released in early April always on Netflix (if you like, you can also read our review of Apollo 10 and a half). In all of these productions there is a strong musical connotation, with the soundtrack being used not only to further immerse the viewer in the historical period in which the plot was set, but also Explain the personal tastes of the heroes, who often identify themselves in the director itself. On the other hand, it is often enough to indicate the character’s favorite song or album to give the audience a clear idea of his personality, thoughts and beliefs.
The most emblematic film of Richard Linklater’s passion for music is Everyone wants somethingwhich directly from the title He remembers Van Halen’s song of the same namewas published in 1980, the symbolic year of the decade in which Coming of age American Filmmaker University, a perfect continuation of boyhood, which stops once the protagonist reaches college admission age. Anyone who has seen the movie will remember it for Bombing of the presence of “May Sharona” subordinate talentreleased in 1979, at dawn 80s. If you haven’t already seen the 2016 title for Linklater, we recommend you check out our review of Everyone Wants Something.
On the other hand, too Apollo 10 and a half It has a very strong musical connotation, this time returning from the 1960s, whose most emblematic songs (at least in relation to the United States) often appear on the film’s soundtracks. In short, if there is a director that fully expresses the idea that a file Music is an integral part of an adult’s education From a young age, this is Richard Linklater.
However, let it be clear that those of Richard Linklater filmed or photographed films metal masters It is not an isolated case. Another interesting example of incorporating music as an integral part of a movie Coming of age And the “strong” descriptive element of its protagonists is Licorice pizza, a masterpiece of Paul Thomas Anderson It was released just a month ago in cinemas also in Italy (which we already praised in our licorice pizza review). The film, which takes place in 1973 (the year of the major energy crisis that affected the plot of the film itself) is real A musical time capsule from the 70swhich includes, among others, songs such as “The July Tree” by Nina Simone, one of the masterpieces of jazz in the second half of the 20th century, “Stumblin’ in” by Chris Norman and Susie Quattro and “But You Mine” by Sonny and Cher, Which, also for thematic convergence, is one of the most famous and appropriate symbols The complicated love between Gary Valentine and Alana Kane.