O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a musical comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, set in Mississippi during the Great Depression. It was released in 2000.

The film is about a convict who escapes prison and brings along two fellow prisoners with the promise of recovering buried treasure. The film stars George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, and Holly Hunter. The Coen brothers claim to have based the movie on The Odyssey by Homer, but admit to not having read the poem. The film's American roots music soundtrack became a surprise hit, and won a Grammy for Album of the Year. (See O Brother, Where Art Thou? (soundtrack).)

The title of the film is a reference to a satirical 1941 film, directed by Preston Sturges, called Sullivan's Travels, where a director wants to direct a film called O Brother, Where Art Thou? but is being forced to direct another film instead; the director wants to experience poverty and keeps trying to but is constantly returned to his posh surroundings. This director's experience is the opposite of that of Odysseus in The Odyssey: Odysseus wants to return home and is constantly being diverted from it.

The film is a pastiche of references to many other films including the Wizard of Oz, Cool Hand Luke, and many others.

External links

• O Brother, Where Art Thou? at Video.com (http://video.movies.go.com/obrother/)
• IMDb entry for O Brother, Where Art Thou? (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190590/)
• O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack (http://www.obrothermusic.com/)