Because I love the music of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez—the two great folk icons of the 60s—I was excited about A Complete Unknown, the new Dylan biopic movie, as soon as the trailer dropped. I knew that high expectations don’t usually result in happy feelings, but I decided to put some faith in the movie because of its director, James Mangold, and its cast. My gamble paid off! I was just as enthusiastic walking out of the theater as I was when I saw the trailer. 

Timothée Chalamet plays a surly Bob Dylan, who conceals his past, strikes people to the ground with his songs, and hops in and out of relationships with an easy attitude. One of the first people “struck to the ground” is Pete Seeger (Edward Norton), a fellow folk singer with a more active moral center and a positive attitude. Joan Baez, played by Monica Barbaro, watches how Dylan takes the scene. The two had a famously tempestuous relationship that is hilarious to see on screen (at one point, she gives him the bird while strumming guitar in concert). The other big parts in the huge cast are Elle Fanning as Sylvie Russo, an early girlfriend of Dylan’s who eventually realizes she doesn’t know him at all, and is unaware of his true identity, and Boyd Holbrook as a flashy Johnny Cash. 

The dramatic events and witty humor of the movie unfold as Dylan’s songs are released in the early 60s. The classic songs, contextualized so that they feel new and exciting while watching the movie, provide a backdrop for the plot, but you could also sit back, relax, eat your popcorn, and let the plot provide the backdrop for the songs—among them, “Like a Rolling Stone,” “The Times They Are A’Changing,” “Blowing in the Wind.” If you’re not someone who knows Dylan’s songs, you’d find a window into an unfamiliar American culture through this movie. Dylan’s songs ask questions that are never answered but are inspiring to contemplate. A Complete Unknown demonstrates how movies can do whatever you want them to: entertain, teach, provoke, or all three.

Bob Dylan once wrote, “Inspiration is hard to come by. You have to take it where you find it.” Find inspiration in spontaneity and newness. Watch a movie that isn’t a sequel. Take a look at a story that’s not your own. It’s refreshing.