Without a Song tells the story of an aging, “free jazz” musician’s return to Los Angeles after a decades-long absence to reunite with old friends whom he was forced to abandon due to tragic circumstances. The film opens on a beautiful oyster bank in Southern Denmark where our protagonist, Ramsey (78), visits every autumn seeking a modicum of pleasure and solitude. Far removed from South Central, he now lives a quiet, secluded life on the outskirts of Copenhagen. We don’t know why Ramsey fled America for Europe all those years ago but his weathered face can’t help but disclose subtle signs of shame and a longing for home.

What started as a brief sojourn overseas has somehow ballooned into nearly 40 years abroad in self-imposed exile. Ramsey keeps to himself, plays his horn, and goes for long scenic walks in idyllic spaces with views of nature. However, when a conservative government program designates his mostly Muslim neighborhood a “hard ghetto” and threatens to demolish the council building where he stays, Ramsey must decide whether or not to stay and fight the controversial policy or move back to Los Angeles. He reluctantly chooses the latter. Once back at home, Ramsey strolls around the city at night in hopes of easing his restlessness and muses on his tendency to choose flights of escape over friendship. Ramses eventually sets out to repair old wounds from his past while secretly battling a mysterious illness that makes it impossible for him to play his instrument. In the absence of musical relief, Ramsey must find ways to live out the very principles that he played about: love, friendship, and a sense of liberation.

Darol Olu Kae aptly refers to Without a Song as a “closing-of-age” film interested in themes of human frailty, alienation, intergenerational tension, and the unrelenting passage of time, all from within the context of a musical tradition that is often described as dying or near death itself.