THIRTY-TWO SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
Rating (0 to 10): 7.0
Date Released: varies Running Length: 1:33 Rated: No MPAA Rating (Nothing offensive)
Starring: Colm Feore Director: Francois Girard Producer: Niv Fichman Screenplay: Francois Girard and Don McKellar Music: Glenn Gould Released by the Samuel Goldwyn Company
Canadian musician and composer Glenn Gould was born in Toronto in 1932. By the age of three, his gifts were apparent, and he was performing professionally nine years later. Gould became one of the world's most renowned classical performers, making more than 60 recordings, as well as working in the fields of publishing, conducting, radio and television broadcasting, and scoring feature films. His version of Bach's "Goldberg Variations" is definitive, and was included as one of the samples of humanity's best on both Voyager spacecraft. Gould died of a stoke in 1982 at the age of 50.
THIRTY-TWO SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD presents a unique, impressionistic look at the offbeat musician. Instead of giving a chronological view of Gould's life, writer/director Francois Girard has elected to present a variety of snapshots, including recreations of actual events (with Gould played brilliantly by Colm Feore) and interviews with real-life contemporaries and friends. Says Girard: "As Gould was such a complex character, the biggest problem was to find a way to look at his work and deal with his visions. The film is built of fragments, each one trying to capture an aspect of Gould. There is no way of putting Gould in one box. The film gives the viewer 32 impressions of him. I didn't want to reduce him to one dimension."
Give Girard credit for understanding his subject and the best method of portraying him. The character and personality of Glenn Gould come across brilliantly in this film. While nothing ninety-three minutes in length can hope to express all the facets of a man of Gould's depth, glimpses of elements lead to an understanding of the whole.
There are indeed 32 episodes, ranging in length from under one minute to just over six. Five of these are interviews, several have no dialogue, and three show Colm Feore's Gould wandering a winterscape. The most original two segments are "Gould Meets McLaren", which features animated spheres dancing to Gould's music, and "Pills", which contains closeups of all the various medicines resident in the musician's bathroom.
Some of the episodes are funny; some are poignant. In "Crossed Paths", Gould's friends recall his love of talking. One man remembers falling asleep while on the phone with Gould, then waking up hours later to find that the one-sided conversation was still in progress. "The Tip" recounts how Gould made a killing on the stock market by defying the advice of his broker. "Motel Wawa" presents Gould's views on the supernatural and the afterlife, which leads directly into "Forty-Nine", in which the musician expresses his fear of turning that age because the digits (four and nine) add up to thirteen.
Colm Feore captures Gould perfectly, bringing his energy and restlessness, as well as his quiet aloofness, to the screen. Because of the unusual nature of THIRTY-TWO SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD, it's easy to forget that we're watching an actor play Gould, not the man himself, and Feore does nothing to spoil the illusion.
In "Lake Simcoe", one of the movie's first segments, Gould states, "I'm fortunate to have been brought up in an environment where music was always present." The same can be said of THIRTY-TWO SHORT FILMS, where Gould's recordings form a backdrop to nearly every scene. This is a movie to be savored by those who are familiar with the work of Glenn Gould, and an opportunity for those who aren't to explore the essence of a rare musical genius. It's an eclectic film, and an astonishing portrait.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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