摘要
音樂電影《山地小調》（The Mountain Minor）是2019年一部大致基於一個家族的傳說為主題的美國電影。其製作經費不高，宣傳氣勢不強，沒有大牌明星和顯赫演導，報導和影評都局限於地方性的範疇。所以普羅大眾所知不多。但是它有許多與眾不同，前無範例的特色，可圈可點。這部電影是根據編劇和導演代爾．發默（Dale Farmer）的家族故事，以美國1930年代大蕭條時代，阿帕拉契山區肯塔基州山地居民大量下山移居俄亥俄州大城市謀生的史實為背景。故事圍繞著主角少年查理（Charlie）萬般無奈地隨著父母離開自由自在的山區生活，到大城辛辛那提市上學、成長、成家和立業，四十多年後告老回山。正如劇中當初老祖父勉勵查理到城市後要勤勉上進，並說：「這些古老山區的曲調會帶你回家來的。」而整個故事的發展則以一支提琴代代傳承做為縱線歷程的牽引。音樂就是山區著名的民間音樂（後來稱為古早音樂），其中包括了敍事歌謠、民歌、提琴曲、青草音樂（bluegrass music，又稱草根藍調）、古老聖詩等等，即現在廣受喜愛的一般民歌、鄉村音樂和青草音樂的泉源。史無前例的是所有的主要演員（乃至於編導和發行人）都是優秀的職業或半職業的民間樂人！編導說：「我認為教音樂家如何演戲會比教演員如何演奏山地音樂來得容易。」更出乎常規的是整部電影（包括片頭和片尾）都沒有用到管弦樂團作配樂。從頭到尾就是一首又一首的民間樂曲相繼出現。使得一位不諳民間音樂的觀眾說：「這簡直就是一場音樂會嘛！他們一有機會就演奏！」但是如果深入一層探索，我們會發覺除了欣賞一流的音樂奏唱之外，劇情還提供了許多歷史、音樂和樂器相關的知識，是移民史、民俗學、民族音樂學、表演學等的大好研究與教學材料。但最重要的是這部電影的一大貢獻是扭轉了長久以來大眾對於山區居民的負面現象。通過音樂，它很誠懇和忠實地把正面的形象呈現給世人。
並列摘要
The 2019 American music film The Mountain Minor retells the story of an Appalachian Mountain family. It is a low-budget movie with no big-name stars or a well-known director. Promotions and reviews are limited to special localities in the American South. The masses don't know much about it. However, it features unique aspects that are completely different from those of other movies (almost all the first time), which are worthy to be discussed. The movie is loosely based on the family stories of the writer and director, Dale Farmer. It is set during The Great Depression of the 1930s in America. Many families in the rural mountain area, in this case, Jackson County in Eastern Kentucky, migrated down and across the Ohio River to work in Cincinnati for employment and better opportunities. Charlie Abner, a young fiddle player, and his family were one of them. He grew up, attended school, married, and operated a successful business for 45 years. When he retired, he moved back to the mountains, fulfilling his grandfather's farewell words right before he left for Cincinnati. His grandfather encouraged Charlie to work hard and said: "These old mountain tunes will bring you back home." The same fiddle played by each generation of the family symbolizes the balance between tradition and change. The mountain folk music featured in the movie (later known as old-time music) includes ballads, folk songs, fiddle tunes, ancient hymns, and more. These are the ancestors of modern folk songs, country music, and bluegrass music. Never before has there been a movie in which all major actors, as well as the director and producer, are full or part-time professional folk musicians. As the director points out: "I thought it would be easier to teach musicians how to act than to teach actors how to play mountain music." Even more out of the ordinary is that there is no orchestral background music from the beginning to the end, not even in the beginning titles or ending credits. The entire film consists of folk music pieces one after another, which made one viewer complain: "This is just a concert! They play music every chance they get!" However, if we approach it at a deeper level, we discover that, in addition to the first-rate musical performances, the drama also reflects issues of migration, folklore, ethnomusicology, and performance practices that provide excellent material for research and teaching. But the foremost contribution of this film is that it reverses the negative attitudes towards mountain people that many people still possess. Through music, it presents a positive attitude sincerely and faithfully to the world.