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Le Violon rouge
Die Rote Geige
Il Violino rosso
The Red Violin
(1998)
The Red Violin is the story of a journey across centuries and continents, with the intrument as traveller, and as the catalyst of the human lives it strings together. As a movie, it is uneven but entirely worthwhile. I did not enjoy the segments set in Vienna and Oxford much: they didn't appeal to me. However, the ones set in China, Italy and Canada did sustain my interest. Here, production values and direction are enough, in my opinion, to allow the audience to turn a shortsighted critical eye over this movie's faults. Bravo to Niv Fichman and François Girard.
While the violin itself is unarguably the movie's central character, the matter of protagonists is manifold. Samuel L. Jackson gets top billing, and I estimate that he also gets the most screen time, but he is a great actor and he fills his segment with a sense of purpose that perfectly espouses the narrative. The other protagonists in each segment act in reaction to circumstances and emotional shocks, the actors' performances are strong, but the movie's momentum lulls; the violin has no will of its own, despite its mystique. If it had, the film would have achieved its desired epic scope. The Red Violin is beautiful, certain to pluck heartstrings, and moving; but it's also a cripple. Listen to the music: that's as far as it will go.
It's a cathartic but unchallenging drama. See it. Listen carefully.
__THE RED VIOLIN directed by François Girard stars Samuel L. Jackson and was co-written by Don McKellar and François Girard, who have often expressed their eternal gratitude toward their translators__
-this review copyright 1999 by mariane desautels-
http://pages.infinit.net/amneria/7.html
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