# Violon rouge, Le (1998)

### reviewed by
John Sylva

The Red Violin by DeWyNGaLe (John Sylva) Rating: A

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Francois Girard directs this arty movie which consists of five languages, English, German, French, Italian, and Mandarin Chinese. The Red Violin follows the travels of a violin built in 1681 by Nicolo Bussotti, (Carlo Cecchi) who spends hours working on perfecting his violin. After the death of his wife Anna (Irene Grazioli) during childbirth, Nicolo commemorates the violin to Anna, building it to perfection. After around one hundred years, the violin resurfaces in Austria. At an orphanage, the young Kaspar Weiss (Christoph Kocnz) plays the red violin with great talent. After seeing Kaspar play the instrument, music teacher Georges Poussin (Jean-Luc Bideau) takes on the responsibility of preparing Kaspar for a concert in front of the Vienna emperor. From Vienna, the violin ends up in Oxford, England where musician Frederick Pope (Jason Flemyng) has possession of the violin, and with his great technique and playing style, Pope quickly becomes a famous violinist. From England, the violin is shipped to Shangai, China, where Xiang Pei (Syvlia Chang) owns the violin, but must keep it hidden because China considers music pointless and offensive. The last journey the violin goes on in the film is to Montreal, Canada, where Charles Mortiz (Samuel L. Jackson) is investigating if the violin is authentic for an auction that is going to take place. In each of the five stories, the violin brings good fortune, followed by bad fortune.

Each chapter of the film unfolds as Cesca, (Anita Laurenzi) a fortune teller, turns over a new tarot card, telling Anna Bussotti her future, which mysteriously becomes the fortune of the violin's. Director Francois Girard makes this film seem like five short movies, all starring one main character, the red violin. Over the three hundred years that the film takes place, we are bombarded with dazzling costumes, realistic set pieces, and beautiful, classical music written by John Corigliano. The music is mysterious and sets the mood for the different sections of film. Joshua Bell, who composes the solo violin pieces, executes each song with great feeling, just as every actor playing the violin does. The music matches each section well, as the sections become closer to the present, the music seems more fresh and modern.

The Red Violin has no lead human character, only about fifteen actors that support the performance of the lead character, the red violin. Each supporting character gets around fifteen minutes of screen time, making the best of their time, performing to their potential. Each character had their own, unique personality which was developed well in the short time they had on screen. The strongest performances come from Samuel L. Jackson and Sylvia Chang, whose performances are effective as they perform every line with great feeling.

Leaving the theater, I felt spellbinded by what I saw. The Red Violin, with its mixture of mesmerizing music, vast settings, and the innovative way of presenting the film makes for a film that left me stunned when the credits started rolling. The Red Violin is an international movie, using five different languages, so the dialogue cannot be understood by the average citizen of any country. Although those five languages may not be familiar to one individual, The Red Violin has a language everyone can understand, wonderful music. Being a musician, and a music lover, The Red Violin may appeal to me more than many others, but all of the elements of the film work and make a great movie. It is amazing that one violin has been through much more than any human will ever be through, and the film got me thinking. Where has the penny in my pocket been? Where has my trumpet been? I am left with one final question about the film- Like the violin whose story was told, the film is high quality. Where will this movie go, concerning awards and the thoughts of the viewers?

The Bottom Line- The Red Violin was music to my ears.

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