Everybody has a past; everybody has lost something, and the recent Danish film, “A Beautiful Life”, released in June on Netflix shoots a big question: will you stop for fear of losing again or will you take the risk?
The lyrics of “Hope This Song Is for You” ask: “If you have nothing to die for / What are you even alive for?”
Elliot (Christopher) is a young fisherman with an incredible talent for music — his vocals charm and his lyrics have heart. Life gives him the chance to shine, but first he must lose even more, see his life reduced to ashes and find love.
The singer-songwriter is discovered by Suzanne (Christine Albeck Borge), a music manager and the widow of a rock star. She has the idea to work together with him and asks her daughter Lily (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) to produce an album, which leads them towards love and down an unconventional path.
Elliot’s producers offer him a kind of reverse path: he must win over the audience and get fans to sing along to his songs before he can record an album. The film explores a great truth these days: if you’re big on the internet, you’re more likely to succeed in other areas and get offers that boost your music career.
He is not the only one, some of the most famous singers got their big break this way: Justin Bieber uploaded videos on YouTube, Calvin Harris posted his clips on MySpace, Shawn Mendes gained popularity with covers on Vine and Sam Fischer went viral on TikTok on his way to fame.
“It’s about grief. It’s about breaking patterns. But, most importantly for me, I feel like this movie is about seizing the opportunities that life throws at you and finding your voice and finding your people,” Christopher said in an interview.
Although some people may think the story is a bit cliché, the lyrics and the music are the most important things. The sweet, beautiful movie grabs the viewer with its wonderful soundtrack that you won’t be able to stop listening to.
The first song Elliot writes for the album is “Hope This Song Is for You,” which was born from a conversation he had with Lilly where she asks him for whom he composes. He writes: “There’s birds in the trees and they’re singing for me/ When the night falls/ That the sunrise won’t be nothing like yesterday.”
He then looks at some family photos, a reminder of a tragic childhood. So, she not only helps him to compose new music, but to give depth to his lyrics that will allow him to heal later on.
“I’ve done things I just can’t change / And just like clouds are full of rain / I carry with me all this extra weight / I’ve got to let it drain.”
The romance between Lily and Elliot is quickly sparked. Their love revolves around music and this is shown by the melodies that accompany them on screen. Although it may seem like a slow movie to some people, the music moves the action along, leaving unnecessary words aside.
“And you can call me fool / But I hope this song is for you / If it’s not quite enough / I’ll find another line or two / If I just had someone/ To sing it to.”
Towards the end of the film, Elliot sings a very personal song for the actor. Christopher himself wrote “Beautiful Life” when he found out his real-life wife was pregnant, just like Lilly in the film. “Baby, I’m pregnant, she said/ And I saw my whole life/ Flash before my eyes,” says the lyric.
“It’s how the whole thing started. I remember writing this song because my wife came to me and said she was pregnant with our first kid. And it became the core of the whole thing,” Christopher said in an interview. “It’s a song that is very personal and very close to my heart and probably one of the best songs I’ve ever written.”
“A Beautiful Life” is a fresh and simple film about pop music culture, but one that inspires with its story of personal and professional self-improvement. It’s the kind of plot to watch on a weekend afternoon, when you don’t want to see anything extravagant with complicated twists and turns or a lot of drama. Perfect for when you prefer something more sensitive and calm and with, of course, good music.
The soundtrack of “A Beautiful Life” is made up of original songs including:
- “A Beautiful Life”
- “Hope This Song Is For You”
- “Would Ya”
- “Honey, I’m so High”
- “Ready To Go”
- “Led Me to You”
- “Book of Me”
- “Hey Love”