The similarity between these three films is that they all have better music in them. (Of course, in comparison, the music in "begin again" is more exciting.) The difference is that the protagonists in the first two films have achieved the success they wanted in their careers, while the latter did not.
The protagonist in "Drunken Country Ballads" is a down-and-out folk singer who has lost his partner. He was so depressed that he had to go to different people to rub the sofa every night.
His friends asked him if he had never thought about his future. He dismissed his friend's words, he felt that it was a sad choice to settle down in a place, marry and have children. Friends feel that he never finds a way out for himself, and that's why he's so down. But he actually found it. He took the long drive to Chicago, hoping to find a way out. Unfortunately, the other party felt that although he was good, he was not good enough, and hoped that he would consider forming a combination with others. He declined, saying he had a partner. The movie never talks about why his partner committed suicide, only that he jumped off the bridge.
After returning from Chicago, he wanted to be a sailor, as his sister suggested, to be a sailor like his father. He paid membership fees with almost all the money he had.
Before he told his friend the result, his friend said she had earned him a chance to sing in a bar. He refused, saying that he was tired. He thought it would be good to just sleep at night, but it was not enough.
Ironically, after he rejected his friend, his sailor card was thrown away by his sister, and he needed to pay another 85 yuan for the sailor card. However, after he paid the membership fee, he was penniless again.
Now is the time, I understand why his partner committed suicide. At the end of the film—and the beginning of the film—he went to that bar to sing.
Perhaps, this is the real life of most people - struggling, but not successful, must be strong enough to live bravely.
Another difference between this film and the first two is that there is almost no mention of love in this film. If you live too hard, you may not have the energy to do other things.
View more about Inside Llewyn Davis reviews
