Seven Signs: Music, Myth & the American South
Seven Signs: Music, Myth & the American South
| 25 October 2008 (USA)
Seven Signs: Music, Myth & the American South Trailers

A tour through the endangered and often misrepresented American South. A collection of stories and performances from artists, musicians, and southern residents interweaves to create an accurate depiction of the soulful and strange American Southland.

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The movie starts with the rambling of a street-side preacher, and then cuts to Col J.D. Wilkes, the director, and a fascination with church signs, and how one of them stated that "There Is No Lie In What We Believe", but Believe was misspelled 'be "lei" ve'.The Colonel's first interview is with an aged sign maker (who claims to know 47,000 jokes) makes him a series of signs with the word "BELEIVE" on them.The Colonel then travels from location to location, placing the signs. They come across a gentleman who discusses the legend of a man in a run-down house, the man owned a monkey, and the legend that cropped up around that.From there to a jamboree of older men trying to preserve a classical country musical style and Saturday night with a clean-cut moral center.The story of the Devil Worshipper of Greensburg (with an interview with the actual 'Devil Worshipper') is perhaps the most touching piece of the entire work, with a particularly surprising admission.Jamie Barrier, another country musician relates a story of pet cemetery that includes a series of ghost dogs chasing raccoons. I Zombie, a horror movie host, who was horribly disfigured in a fire as a child recollects his career and people's reaction to his claims of Christianity and his career choice.Scott H Biram provides a rousing point of view on religion, recollecting his last day as a church-goer in 2nd Grade, interspersed with him playing a thunderous little alt-country ditty.Cedric Watson talks about the integration of the Creole communities.This is followed by a bit at a carnival full of freak shows, with the host relating anecdotes.A farmer talks about his job and the risk of being disfigured.Jay Munly & Slim Cessna perform a wailing tune, while Munly relays the story of "Doder Made Me Do It".The final bit is with a black man who works the street as a corsage maker. The thing is, he has lost both his hands in an electrical accident.The movie ends on the performance of the Colonel and some other musicians cut with visuals of the South.There is something more than vaguely exploitive and voyeuristic about this movie, but makes a ready attempt at sincerity.The Colonel J.D. Wilkes is working on making himself a Southern Renaissance man, and the potential is there. Rent it on Netflix! I think you will be encouraged to buy it. Very similar to "Deep Blues" and "The Wrong-Eyed Jesus".

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