RAINDANCE 2020 | "After So Many Days" Goes All In On Music, Love, and Adventure
10/12 ForReel Score | 4/5 Stars
If you’re a music artist struggling to grow your following, what do you do? Record more music? Meet more people? Tour more? For the folk duo Jim and Sam, the answer is all of the above. Much more of all of the above. Results of the ensuing effort that this musical couple embark on might be up for debate, but the journey is an undeniably uplifting experience for audiences.
In After So Many Days, singer-songwriting couple Jim Hanft and Samantha Yonack set out to play one show every day for an entire year. As one might expect, they encounter many challenges along the way: cancelled shows, technical issues, health deficiencies, relationship struggles. The list goes on and on. But what the duo discover in this effort is the beauty that can be unearthed in connecting with strangers and the satisfaction that can be found in overcoming obstacles to chase their dream.
It’s an incredible feat that Jim and Sam set out to accomplish in this marathon tour, not only in embarking on this globetrotting endeavor, but also as filmmakers. After So Many Days manages to condense this 365 day adventure into a tightly edited, concise, and entertaining hour and a half documentary. It’s a feature that does what it needs to in order to communicate the year-long story and promote the artists as musicians and performers.
For much of the film, Jim and Sam are the ultimate #relationshipgoals, and it's inspiring to watch as they talk with each other and with their various audiences about the frustrations they experience along the way. After So Many Days is immensely endearing, and Jim and Sam are entertaining enough people; adventurous, funny, musically inclined, and honest. Their dynamic both vocally and interpersonally is often so synergetic as they rely on one another to overcome road bumps in this challenge and in their career.
Whether Jim and Sam make enough headway on their initial objective is up to your own interpretation. What is for certain though is their love and passion for what they do, the experiences they have, and for each other. Jim reflects on their experience, remembering what he calls “the beautiful people and the beautiful souls” they met along the way. Well, beautiful is also exactly how I’d describe this pair, their talent, and this charming documentary they have made together.
Acting and Casting - 2 | Visual Effects and Editing - 2 | Story and Message - 1 | Entertainment Value - 2 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 2 | Reviewer's Preference - 1 | What does this mean?