The Red Violin (1998)

The Red Violin (1998)

A total romantic fiction, rather compelling in its construction over many centuries, and beautifully wrought in each era.

I don't suppose the violin needs romanticizing, nor does it need a kind of obvious group hug view of its history, but that's the feel good, up and down, loving story it takes. First there is the small violin shop where it is made, and the tragedy around this particular model, the maker's last. It's supposed to come from the same era as the Strad and other timeless fiddles. It's a great place to begin a story filled with mysteries (and the mystery of a great violin, it's shape, wood, and varnish, is given high tech reinforcement in the end with an electronic awe). So the violin is born.

And it moves from a Austrian orphanage (with an unbelievable prodigy) to generations of gypsies (some interesting filming with the violin suspended in space as one after another player takes it up) to a crackpot British prodigy (who acts more like a rock star and an indulgent one, if that's not redundant). Finally it winds its way (not so improbably, because life is weird) to China, which of course echoes the modern rise of the Asian virtuosi coming from that part of the world.

So the tale is the history of a violin, a possessed one. The spirit of the instrument seems to inhabit the movie. This is reinforced by an Italian fortune-teller (a kindly witch) who has an early Tarot deck. The Tarot was not used for divination that early--it was introduced a card game in Northern Italy in the late 1400s--but that's okay, because it works into the plot really well. Five cards are chosen by the pregnant wife of the master violin maker. Each is turned over for another twenty minute chapter in the movie. In a key moment, the wife asks the fortune teller, what if I don't like what it says, what if it's evil? And the fortune teller says, "I'll pretend not to notice."

Promptly the moon is the first card, the most ominous card in the deck (I've studied tarot a bit, which is why, weirdly enough, I watched the movie). But the fortune teller doesn't say that doom is facing the pregnant wife. Instead she lies, and the movie takes one turn after another.

You might think this is brilliant stuff, and it has the trappings of that. It could have been, with some slight twist of intentions, artfully transcendent. But it's a hair long at times, and by the last (modern) scenes, a bit cold and unfulfilling. I don't know the solution to what might have worked, but I know it left me interested and curious by the end, not quite bowled over, which is clearly (on the sleeve) the intention.

Still, an engaging, musically rich tapestry of great scenes, great music, and a brimming story. Recommended, with slight reservations.

Fmovies: An incredibly well-thought-through connecting storyline makes this movie a pleasure to watch. Its screenplay was one of the most unfortunate Oscar snubs this year. Although not necessarily the best, it deserves recognition for its creativity.

I originally saw this movie for the sole purpose of seeing a movie about a violin. Being a violinist myself, I must say that the music in this film is what first attracted me. However, as I watched the story unfold before me, I realized that there is so much more to this film. The story is enchanting. It draws the audience into its powerful grip, keeping their attention from the very first second as the sordid life of the Red Violin is slowly revealed. There is immensely remarkable work displayed in this film, and the music is just as enchanting as the story. I think this is a true masterpiece, and should be seen by everyone at least once....

The Red Violin fmovies. The mystique of violin making has always intrigued me so this film was a big attraction for me going in, and I wasn't disappointed for one second!

OK, first of all, the obvious things that make it special: reality, craft, acting, scoring, and cinematography! It takes only a few seconds to know that this gem did NOT emanate from the money grubbers in Hokeywood California as one more way to titillate teenagers with sex, violence, and computer generated special effects with a subliminal message that sells products. Nope! This film was made by film makers who understand the power of a story well told, and REAL cinema.

Cutting back and forth repeatedly between the present and various disparate periods and places from the past, THE RED VIOLIN forces the viewer to pay attention and most of all... THINK!

The Red Violin is NOT the subject here but a catalyst to stimulate thought about human behavior and how different societies have related to art as we move through the centuries.

The casting was (on the whole) excellent though the choice of Samuel L. Jackson as a learned expert in ancient instruments was not convincing for me personally. And, the NON-ending which is more of a comment on human habits of acquisition than human nobility, was just not what I considered a definitive ending. (Maybe that was the point! "Everything continues endlessly...")

If you go to movies as an excuse to nibble away on munchies and get titillation, well, this one's NOT for you. BUT, if you have the patience to watch and think simultaneously as a great story unfolds, then SEE this film immediately!

Independent movies or Asian and European films (to make it easy, let's say all movies that haven't been produced by some big Hollywood studio), always seem to have a certain group of fans, not because they are good, but because they are "different". That so-called in-crowd believes that every movie that hasn't been made by a big studio is great art and that all other movies are bad. Never tell them that sometimes the opposite can be true, because they can't and won't believe you. Well, I'm not one of them and I watch all movies with a critical eye. And yes, I try to see as many of those "alternative" movies as well. But that's just because I'm a movie buff who is interested in all kinds of movies, not because I'm convinced that this kind of movies is automatically a lot better than the rest.

In this movie we don't follow some people, but a violin on its journey through time and the world. The movie starts in present day Montreal, where "the red violin", a famous Nicolo Bussotti violin, is being auctioned off. But instead of staying with the auction all the time, we flash back to the creation of the violin in 17th century Italy and then follow it as it makes its way through an 18th century Austrian monastery/orphanage, a violinist in 19th century Oxford and China during Mao's Cultural Revolution... Each time it brings the person who owns it a lot of fame, but also bad luck and despair, often resulting in the death of the owner or someone the owner really loves...

What I appreciated in this movie is that it wasn't just an ordinary drama or thriller. It actually tried to be original and it succeeded very well. Another thing that I also really liked was the fact that not every detail of the movie was clear until the end (for instance why the fortune teller's predictions come true, but not for the woman, but for the violin instead.). It sometimes seems that the creators of movies don't even bother about adding some mystery in their movies anymore and I really miss that. That's probably why I liked it so much in this one.

Once in a while you come across a movie that you might call a gem. Well, "The Red Violin" is one of those truly magnificent gems. It's beautiful in every possible way. The music is excellent (although you better love violin music, because that's all you'll here), the acting is very nice and the story really is very beautiful. I guess I could talk for hours about this movie, but it's better to watch it than to read about it, so I'll end my review by saying that this is a wonderful and very musical movie that doesn't deserve any less than an 8.5/10.

What can you say about a film that covers three centuries, people from all stations of society, and several European countries and Canada. Ambitious is a good start. This film was very well crafted and at about one hundred forty minutes was too short for me. The story follows a red violin, an inanimate object, although at times it seemed alive to me, thru three centuries and the influences good and ill that it has on its possessors. It does ever seem to be owned. Each of its possessors lives a life of passion and turmoil. The violin's birth is during turmoil and during its life it buried, shot, and almost burned. The writing which includes this parallel between the violin and its possessor , five somewhat independent segments that mell and converge in the final scenes, and a story told by tarot cards make for an extremely unique experience. Add to that the musical score, scenery, the varied languages and cultures and you have a great offering. The performances were all strong, but I thought Jason Flemyng as Lord Frederick Pope stood out. To say his character was eccentric and maybe a little over the top is justifiable but I'm sure that was intended. English nobility has always been known for its idiosyncrasies. The ending has incongruous feel with the remainder of the film but is satisfactory and I can not suggest a better one. Great entertainment! Three and a half stars!!!