I just watched Local Hero (1983) again, and I think it might actually be my favorite movie.
A businessman from Texas (Peter Riegert) is reluctantly sent to Scotland by the oil company he works for to buy a small coastal town and turn it into a refinery. Instead of the locals being upset at the prospect, they are all delighted about the money they will make. However, American falls in love with the place, and wishes things didn’t have to change, and he never had to leave.
It’s like a heartwarming Hallmark Christmas movie, except that instead of Christmas it’s Scotland, and instead of the big city guy falling for the small town girl, he simply falls for the small town.
Oh, and a very young Peter Capaldi runs like baby bird and falls in love with a marine biologist who might actually be a mermaid.
It’s the perfect combination of gentle humor, delightful characters, and beautiful scenery that gets me right in the feels every time. Just … magical.
As an added bonus, the music was done by Mark Knopfler, the frontman of Dire Straits, who also did the music for The Princess Bride.
The (presumably) autobiographical rockabilly track announces the April 12 arrival of One Deep River. It’s three verses and a bridge - no chorus - and finds Knopfler singing in a laconic, road-weary voice and playing subdued licks over the steady beat of a snare.
And I can’t tell you one thing new/about playing for the door/some of my dreams back there, too/with the sawdust on the floor/we’re worn out and weary, all of us/but we know why we came/banged up and battered like this old bus/staying just ahead of the game, he sings.
Knopfler, of course, won the game with Dire Straits. But this unadorned brand of music - the kind that marked that band’s initial recordings and Knopfler’s subsequent solo work - suits him best.
Grade card: Mark Knopfler - “Ahead of the Game” - B+
Everyone talks about how amazing the princess bride is (rightfully so) but people don’t talk enough about the soundtrack. The motifs the themes the impeccable vibes. Have you sat down and listened to “guide my sword”? Have you heard “the friends’ song” and heard the guitar and horn in conversation with each other in a light and playful dance, much like Inigo and Fezziks’ friendship? Mark Knopfler is a legend. A legend I say!!!!