The Red ViolinI was persuaded into renting this last year by someone whose opinion I greatly respect, and I'm certainly glad I did. Although a good deal of the film is accompanied by subtitles, the movie is infinitely watchable, a rewarding, masterful tale of passion and love, imbued within the structure of a red violin.
The film spans generations, with the titular violin being sold at a high-class auction in present day Canada, while it's rich history ...and how it has exchanged hands throughout time...unfolds through various flashbacks. With each flashback, we are gifted with a new locale and the talented musicians who stumble upon the majesty of this instrument. None of the flashbacks linger for too long, and each could stand alone as an interesting film in its own right, but taken together they make for a film with lasting resonance. In light of its journey throughout the ages, the violin itself becomes a character we become deeply invested in. The instrument inspires and transforms not only the players, but everyone that recognize the beauty and truth of its refined elegance.
My one fault with the film is something which I feel affected the credibility of the world being presented. Samuel L. Jackson plays a significant role as a present day violin appraiser. Now, ostensibly, this seems like a horrible bit of casting .. . but he's a fine actor, and he tries to make it work. The story is so strong that it basically overshadows the, admittedly, frivolous casting concern. But Samuel L. Jackson has a strong, wholly masculine presence which seems out of a place within the confines of a picture that's so full of grace.
The Red Violin is a revealing glimpse into the passion that drives artists to create, to acquire, and to perfect. It pierces the veil of time to show us that our stories are interconnected, and that under the appearance of things lies one simple truth, one driving impetus for creation; love.
Rating: A-
This is a song that a group of gypsies played on the violin near Oxford in one of the flashbacks. It was a very interesting scene visually, and the melody itself was incredibly catchy.