Indy Film Fest -- After So Many Days
Setting out to do a live show every night for an entire year is a crazy quest for any band. Now add to the fact that the band is a duet that has been married for less than 6 months and that craziness instantly turns into insanity. Even with all the insanity of canceled gigs, traffic jams and a dream that is always just barely out of their reach, Jim and Sam keep smiling and bringing their music to the masses in “After So Many Days.”
Seeing their dreams of a successful musical career never taking off newly married Jim Hanft and Samantha Yonack professionally known as Jim and Sam decide to take matters into their own hands and come up with the idea of doing a live show every day for the next 365 days and document the journey. The tour will take them across the United States, Sweden and England to just name a few spots and the trek isn’t always an easy one.
Seeing gigs canceled due to blizzards and being dropped as the opening act for a series of shows for two months just days beforehand, the duo plays anywhere and everywhere they can. They set up shop in barbershops, clubs, houses, restaurants and even a nail salon. One impromptu show in a convenience store has two people recognize them from a prior show they did in the man’s living room.
The road at times wears on the two as we see them bicker, but in the end, the power of the music is enough to get them through. At every low point, the music finds a way to weave its magic and give them what they need to energize them and keep them chasing their dream. It’s uplifting to see the positive vibes that encircle them and show that what you put out in the universe is ultimately what you get back.
In the end, the trials pay off when they get a call while in Sweden that puts them one step closer to their dreams. They finish out the tour in their hometown of Los Angeles and are overcome with emotion when they set food back in their home for the first time in almost a year. The film closes with the duo in the studio recording the music they’ve honed by a long year on the road.
“After So Many Days” is a great film. It’s lovely to see two people who share a passion for music and the willingness to do whatever it takes to make their dream happen. I thought it was nice to see that the good days were balanced with bad ones, but that the two kept loving each other and finding the solace they needed in the process itself.
The film is filled with beautiful moments, but my favorite was when Jim and Sam played for a field full of cows. It might sound silly, but I found the moment profound and it comes at a critical point after Jim and Sam have one of their first disagreements. It’s simple and stunning.
“After So Many Days” is a beautiful documentary that gives an inside look at life on the road for two people whose love for music is only trumped by their love of each other. A truly wonderful film.