Submitted by admin on Thu, 2005-11-10 09:00. ::
For music entrepreneurs, "The Red Violin" gives instrumentation and art new life and is a must-see. However, the limited time given with each brief segment leaves very little for suture or dramatic purpose for actors.
From the very start of "The Red Violin," the star of the film is clear. If the violin isn't on the screen, it is the centerpiece of conversation or background music. Painted with blood and with f-holes that act as eyes in several subjective shots, the violin is a living thing that feels pain and acts with passion, beauty and form.
Essentially, the film follows the red violin from 1681 to the present day through many different musicians and times. In the first segment, the violin is made by visionary Niccolo Bussotti as his masterpiece and life's work. Before her death during child birth, Bussotti's wife receives a fortune via tarot cards. Instead of her fortune, however, the reading acts as the illustrious violin's future throughout time.
Between every new segment of time, a reminder of the present day is set. An auction in Montreal draws people of all cultures from across the world to bid on the violin. Where the violin will end up, no one knows.
The vignettes take the audience to a child prodigy in Vienna, a sex-driven artist in Oxford and a politically active woman in communist China. Wherever the violin goes, its powers consume the player and lead to trouble. In the final climax of the film during the auction in Montreal, the most confronting of all themes arises.
Throughout historically important eras, the people who have the red violin are consumed and find trouble externally. Only in the age of capitalism are the people internally affected. Samuel L. Jackson ("Pulp Fiction") acts as the American character whose whims of envy and greed represent an era in which anything goes.
"The Red Violin" is director Francois Girard's latest attempt in filmmaking. His previous acclaim came from a similar set of vignettes in "32 Short Films about Glenn Gould." All the players in the film are one-dimensional and merely act as surroundings to the true star. While the film works internally, the external reaction from audiences is definitely mixed. However, any traditional or classic music lover will appreciate the only film that uses a timeless instrument to tell a story.
Rightfully so, "The Red Violin" won awards across the board for an unbelievable soundtrack of violins showing their versatility in building drama. The instrument itself creates all the internal and external drama with those affected by it merely reflecting its power through facial expression. As Jackson says in the film, "It's the ultimate thing as I see it. …What do you do when the thing you most wanted, so perfect, just comes?"
Although the film drives no characters or drama forward, it places this immortal instrument on high and shows how, in itself, it can carry a film. However, the nature of a film without human stars at the forefront is jarring and awkward. For over two hours Girard may be stretching the limit of a violin's acting power, but "the single most perfect acoustical machine I've ever seen," as a restorer says, remains timeless.
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