For the Tibetan Mastiffs living on Snow Mountain, a dog's life has a simple riff: Guard a peaceful village of wool-making sheep from the thuggish wolf Linnux and his rabid pack. To avoid distractions, Mastiff leader Khampa forbids all music from the mountain. But when Khampa's son Bodi discovers a radio dropped by a passing airplane, it takes just a few guitar licks for his fate to be sealed: Bodi wants to be a rock 'n' roll star.

City-boy Ren McCormick finds he has been moved into an uptight Midwestern town where the local officials have banned dancing and rock 'n roll music. Ren revolts with his best friend Willard and the minister's daughter. A timeless struggle between innocent teenage pleasures and adults' need for rigid morality.

Ren MacCormack moves from Boston to the small town of Bomont, where he experiences a heavy dose of culture shock. A few years prior, the community was rocked by a tragic accident that killed five teenagers after a night out. Bomont's councilmen and the beloved Reverend Shaw Moore responded by invoking ordinances that prohibit loud music and dancing. Not one to bow to the status quo, Ren challenges the ban, revitalizes the town, and falls in love with...

Darius Marder's Academy Award-winning film stars Riz Ahmed in an intense, committed performance as a drummer who loses his hearing and comes to discover deafness not as a disability but as a rich culture and community.