The Concert (2009)

This is the first film of Radu Mihaileanu that really did it to me. It is moving, I resonated with the subject, I laughed when it was funny and I was close to tears when it meant to be emotional. Yet, as his previous films, it is not a masterpiece just a good film to remember. Which is no small matter either.

Mihaileanu's previous films were each of them based on original and different ideas. in each of those the ideas hold above the execution. 'Train de vie' was one of the first films to deal with Holocaust from a comic perspective, and maybe the most interesting idea of all, better even as Begnini's maybe. 'Les pygmees de Carlo' dealt with the communication between cultures in an unusual way. 'Vas, viens, et deviens' is the only movie until now to deal with the Ethiopian immigration to Israel. Here, in 'Le Concert' two main ideas dominate the action. One is about the new culture of vulgarity and mediocrity that dominates the life after the fall of the Communism. The main hero (wonderfully acted by Aleksei Gluskov) is a great conductor. His life and career were broken during the Communist rule for having opposed the regime of Brezhnev. Yet, the change of the social order did not put him back in place, as the collaborators of the old regime and the new oligarchs took the place of the rulers, siding the real values. The second idea is that music redeems, transcends politics, and is worth any risks and sacrifices.

'Le Concert' is correspondingly divided into two parts. The first one is a brilliant comedy, one of the best that I have seen lately. It is based on stereotypes one may argue, the stereotype of the Russians and French, of the Jews and Gypsies, of musicians and impresarios, Communists and oligarchs, but in these case they work, and the result is true and funny. The Russian orchestra of former musicians, sided away by the new times makes it to Paris under the label of the Bolshoi to give the concert of their lives, the proof that Tchaikovsky, and Russian music, and value are still there despite all. Then the second part begins, the one in which all becomes personal, Then the second part begins, the one in which all becomes personal, with a seemingly love story which turns to be something completely different, a much more dramatic story in which music is not only revenge but also personal redemption, is not only survival but also coming from beyond the graves of a tragic history.

This is were the strength and the weakness of Radu Mihaileanu's art meet. All the film converges to the final scene, the one of the concert in Paris, we know it from the beginning. All the explanation will be present in that scene, and this is the bet and the risk of any music film in the history of cinema. The result is only a partial win. Tchaikovsky's Concerto for Violin provides the appropriate background, and the emotional result is immediate. The doubts start after the screening ends. The situation is certainly less than credible, from an intrigue and musical point of view. Mihaileanu's execution is too direct, he plays too much on short term emotions, tears are too apparent. He has huge ideas, and one day he may turn them into one or more great movies. 'Le Concert' is too explicit, it lacks the patience and the sophistication to be that one .

Fmovies: I received warm recommendations before going to see "Le concert" and, as a consequence, was prepared to like it.

I must admit that hearing one of my favourite classical pieces at the beginning induced a positive outlook; however, as I am rather critical, this would not have made up for a boring experience afterwards.

Yet the rest was delightful, and there was no moment left for fatigue or dissatisfaction. Those clichés criticized by some are still well understood in Eastern Europe; as to the exacerbated kitsch - it can be found today, with no difficulty, within the society I live in.

The plot may have seemed straightforward, but a whirlwind of colour, wonderful music, sadness and humour carried me swiftly to the end and to the applause of the audience in the cinema.

It may not be the best film I have seen, but it certainly possesses the "je ne sais quoi" that makes you want to see it again, that makes you feel different for having experienced it. And for this, I think "Le Concert" should be accepted and loved just as it is.

This movie goes a long way to heal my nostalgia for the good films of old. A lot of the "modern" eastern European movies try very hard to be so soul searching, so psycho-dramatic, as if they are on a mission to turn and twist their bewildered audience in the hope of some intellectual and metaphysical gratification (or maybe just the hope of a Palme D'Or). Radu Mihaileanu is the master of story telling, touching souls in the best way possible, really. Yes you can pick faults, like with most movies, but if you really pay attention and let you and your feelings move with the flow of the movie, you will be in for a great soul experience. The inaccuracies, the factual errors won't matter anymore. What it does matter is that the author is pretty much exact in retrieving the atmosphere of an era which some of us actually experienced.

The Concert fmovies. In Moscow, the former conductor of the Bolshoi Orchestra Andrey Simonovich Filipov (Alexeï Guskov) is presently the janitor of the theater. Andrey felt in disgrace with the Communist Party thirty years ago for protecting the Jewish musicians and was no longer allowed to conduct an orchestra. One night, Andrey reads a just-received fax while cleaning the office of the Bolshoi's director Leonid Vinichenko (Valentin Teodosiu) and he hides the document. He learns that the Châtelet Theater in Paris has just invited the Bolshoi Orchestra to perform a concert in Paris within two weeks. Andrey shows the fax to his friend and musician Aleksandr 'Sasha' Abramovich Grosman (Dimitri Nazarov) that drives an ambulance and he decides to reunite fifty-five former musicians of Bolshoi to travel to Paris and perform The Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He invites the Communist leader and former KGB Ivan Gavrilov (Valeri Barinov) to manage the orchestra and he requests the solo of the prominent musician Anne- Marie Jacquet (Mélanie Laurent) and to stay in Paris for three days.

When they arrive in Paris, Andrey meets Anne-Marie while the musicians wander in the city, partying and raising money. The unprofessionalism of the Russian musicians forces Anne-Marie to call off the concert; but Sasha convinces her to come to the theater. Meanwhile Andrey grieves the incident with the violinist Lea thirty years ago and hides a secret from Anne-Marie. What is the connection between Andrey and Anne-Marie?

"Le Concert" is a film not only for movie lovers, but mainly for music lovers. This dramatic comedy tells an adorable bitter-sweet story about losses and second chance in life through music, or better, the wonderful and awesome Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto.

The director Radu Mihaileanu, from "Train de Vie", once again plays with tragic situations, using a witty screenplay with charismatic characters and making laugh and cry out of joy. I have seen the sequence of the concert at least eight consecutive times, full of emotion and with tears in my eyes. This is one of the most beautiful and touching climax I have ever seen in a film.

The cast is fantastic and Mélanie Laurent is awesome, giving credibility to her violin solo during the presentation. Last but not the least, this film should have been at least nominated to the Oscar. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "O Concerto" ("The Concert" – not available on DVD or Blu-Ray)

Note: On 10 August 2011, I saw this outstanding film again on DVD.

This is a gem of a movie. Do not miss it! Amazing rarely seen Russian actors, hilarious comedy, emotions by the bucket, tears, sublime music, tension, suspense, it's been a while since I saw anything like it. I was weary that the director, prize winner of art-house fame, would make a slow pompous contemplative film. At the contrary Le Concert is a fast moving beautifully shot comedy about music, artists, Russia, Paris and communism. The director makes the actors brilliant, even average French actors like Miou Miou or the young soloist whose name I forgot. Do not wait for the DVD: it's worth watching on a big screen with a loud digital surround to enjoy the violins and the magnificent soundtrack. Bring your tissues you will laugh and cry, a great night out guaranteed!!!

The Concert is a French/ Italian/Romanian/Belgian production shot in Moscow and Paris. The publicity blurb says that the musical finale is worth the ticket price alone, but I would say even reading the list of exotic names floating over the opening credits is worth a good percentage of the price.

We travel back 30 years to when Andrei, talented young conductor of the Bolshoi Orchestra, was humiliated and sacked by Breshnev for refusing to get rid of his Jewish musicians. Fast forward to the present, and we find him still working at the Bolshoi - but as a cleaner. One lucky day he finds himself alone with the office fax machine. What follows is an audacious plot to get his old sidekicks to Paris, using borrowed instruments, hired suits and fake passports, posing as the real Bolshoi for a concert at the Theatre du Chatelet. If you can imagine a story as full of colour and drama as the TV rock 'n' roll serial epic Tutti Frutti, jammed into just one cinema experience, this could be it. It's rare to see so many set pieces in one film.

I laughed out loud once or twice - and if you know what a grumpy old man I am you would realise what that means. I was also moved to tears, but I'm not telling you why. That would spoil it all - just saying that under its layer of manic fast-cut comedy the story carries a deep, dark and passionate secret which gradually reveals itself as the comedy peels off. The music is, I have to add, beautiful - whether it's Roma dance jigs in the street or Tchaikovsky in the concert hall. Bring a hanky!