The Red Violin

The Red Violin

What are we to make of Francois Girard's THE RED VIOLIN? Will it repeat the success of his celebrated 32 Short Films About Glenn Gouldl Frankly I doubt it, though it's just as much an extended jeu d'esprit.

 

A miraculous violin, a pack of tarot cards, a couple of talented tots, a mane-tossing Paganini-figure, and an endlessly repeated auction: this awkward blend of realism and whimsy jumps back and forth through the centuries until one longs for terra firma - indeed, the most solid thing in the film is Joshua Bell playing John Corigliano's score off-screen.

Published: January 20, 2012 at 4:19 pm

COMPOSERS: Francois Girard
LABELS: Sony
PERFORMER: John Corigliano
CATALOGUE NO: SK 63010

What are we to make of Francois Girard's THE RED VIOLIN? Will it repeat the success of his celebrated 32 Short Films About Glenn Gouldl Frankly I doubt it, though it's just as much an extended jeu d'esprit.

A miraculous violin, a pack of tarot cards, a couple of talented tots, a mane-tossing Paganini-figure, and an endlessly repeated auction: this awkward blend of realism and whimsy jumps back and forth through the centuries until one longs for terra firma - indeed, the most solid thing in the film is Joshua Bell playing John Corigliano's score off-screen.

The dialogue has its risible moments, notably when the Jagger-like Paganini regrets his inability to join Greta Scacchi in Russia. 'I can't go - I have concerts!' - 'I know, darling,' she purrs in truly 1999 tones. 'I should have pinned you to the mattress when last I had the chance,' he later muses over her photograph. 'When last I...'? Yes, we're talking period romance here, with soft porn thrown in.

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