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The Red Violin

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The Red Violin (1999)

May. 22,1999
|
7.6
|
R
| Drama Thriller Mystery Music
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300 years of a remarkable musical instrument. Crafted by the Italian master Bussotti (Cecchi) in 1681, the red violin has traveled through Austria, England, China, and Canada, leaving both beauty and tragedy in its wake. In Montreal, Samuel L Jackson plays an appraiser going over its complex history.

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Moustroll
1999/05/22

Good movie but grossly overrated

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Kaelan Mccaffrey
1999/05/23

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

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Deanna
1999/05/24

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

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Guillelmina
1999/05/25

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

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jadonachar
1999/05/26

This movie started off really good with the little kid having the red violin and being really talented but after his death the movie just became really boring didn't like any of the other characters besides the teacher and the kid which we saw for like 10 minutes. Overall bad movie. Not worth your time.

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dromasca
1999/05/27

This ambitious project realized 15 years ago and directed by Francois Girard uses a not completely new pretext for its story line retracing 300 years of history of a superb violin manufactured at the end of the 17th century, a violin born in tragedy and seeming to carry unusual passion and power which marks the destinies of all its successive owners. When watching this film we cross centuries, countries, continents following the destiny of an unusual instrument which seems to be hiding the special gifts making wonderful sounds, but also a curse for the fate of its owners. An object that ignites art and passion.The story telling predicts by a few years the novels of Dan Brown and the like, and we deal in parallel with the chronological told story of the violin and with the intrigues behind the scenes of the public auction in which it is sold at the end of the 20th century. As the story develops we understand that the participants in the bid are also related to the history of the instrument, descendants of its previous owners, connected also through a destiny predicted in cards of tarot, which is also revealed gradually as the story progresses.15 years after the film was made its music and some of its independent story segments survive better than the whole. Violinist Joshua Bell was the musical consultant and probably played much of the score, which makes for some very interesting but out of the beaten track music. I liked it, but do not expect to hear any famous scores, you will need to listen carefully to understand the passion and appreciate the quality. The short stories in the history are all well written but also a little bit conventional, characters are drawn with attention, and love for music. The connection between the episodes is not so well made, the five cards can be a transition trick that works well on TV, but the jumps in time and the changes of hands of the owners are too sketchy for a big screen movie. The final episode (of the public auction) introduces an element of suspense which I found again to be a little too conventional and not really in tune with the rest of the story. A little bit like a musical composition with many beautiful passages but lacking strength in composition and a 'finale' to remember.

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homespun13
1999/05/28

I enjoyed historical movies and in general find the life of a priceless antique worth reading about (or watching). I find it amazing that we can know every owner for example of a specific pearl going back several centuries, but most folks know about their own families usually just two generations back. So I thought this movie would be one I would enjoy. I also expected to hear some beautiful violin music. Wrong on both counts. The violin's history seemed too manufactured for the film's sake, not a real logical progression from one owner to another. Some of the major changes of ownership were left to the viewer's imagination and at least in my own case, I was unable to make the leap. The change did not make sense. How did the violin get to be owned by gypsies? How did it get to China? It would have made an interesting story, but where the manufactured history is stretched way beyond anything credible, the change of ownership is simply not explained. While I liked the overall concept of following the life of an object, the music, which I expected to be a major part of this film, was beyond disappointing. I don't play the violin but I can certainly appreciate beautiful music. There was very little "music" per se in this music. The only time anything that could be called "music" was played was some Chinese children's performance and it was made by accordions. The only sounds we heard coming from this supposedly incredibly valuable violin was the endless screeching, and this in spite of the fact that its journey took us through times when some of the most heavenly music on earth had been composed. Not one piece from Mozart, or resembling Mozart's style, had been offered. Just screeching. No music of any of the music's great composers was played at any time. More screeching. The sounds this violin made could have been compared to a cat scratching on a metal roof. That bad. Wonder how many CDs with the soundtrack they managed to sell. That would tell them just how "wonderful" the soundtrack was. The soundtrack was thoroughly modern, something that may be considered all the rage today. The music was probably difficult to play, but there is no sugarcoating it - the music is nothing but screeching. No melody, no rhythm, no emotion. No sweet sounds that leave a person in awe of beauty of sound. So no music, just noise. The ending climax likewise is not really any surprise like it is supposed to be, and most certainly not a shocking surprise, because I thought "the secret" was already implied in the beginning and so it didn't seem like any kind of surprise, at least not to me. If you can stand the noise that passes for a soundtrack, this is not a bad film. It's different. It's not very entertaining, but just the fact that it doesn't follow the standard mold makes it interesting. Best film ever made (as some of the reviews here indicate)? Most definitely not. I am writing this in 2013 (saw the film for the first time yesterday) and the film is all but forgotten today, 15 years after it was made. I happened to pick up an old VHS tape in a second hand store. Otherwise, it's forgotten.

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djvalis
1999/05/29

This could very well be the most profound film you'll ever see. Master-crafted to near perfection: the story, acting, directing, cinematography, writing, lighting, suspense and aesthetic feel of this film is beyond anything I'd experienced. Although it didn't hit me right away, I realized three fourths of the way through this film that I might be witnessing one of the best films ever made. To take an inanimate object and show so much emotion, history and intrigue through it, weaving centuries, people and history through that object is quite simply genius. See it as soon as you can, see it with someone you love, see it with someone you hate, just see it. There are certain movies people call 'hidden gems'. Well this movie might be the one that shines brighter than them all. If the Oscars went back over each decade of film and give honorary Oscars to films that should have won best picture, this should be the winner of that hypothetical award: The Best Picture that never got any credit.

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