Review – New Film Release ‘Le Concert’ 2009
Last night I went to an advanced screening of the French movie, Le Concert.
Le Concert is a 2009 film by Radu Mihaileanu with Mélanie Laurent and Miou-Miou. It has won the Best Original Score and Best Sound awards at César Awards 2010.
What a wonderful, feel-good movie! It amazed me how the DIrector was able to so seamlessly combine the genres of comedy and drama without getting bogged down in the politics of Communist Russia in the early 1980s.
For two hours I was in another world -- which in my opinion -- is the mark of a great movie. I must admit that I just adore well made movies on the subject of ‘music’. Le Concert scored 10/10 from me. I’m going to add it to my film library as a reference in film-making -- which is one of my interests.
Hope you get to see the film.
I’ve included some information and interesting links below.
Plot Summary
(YouTube)
“A film by Radu Mihaileanu (Live and Become, Train of Life.) Starring Alexei Guskov, Melanie Laurent, Dmitry Nazarov and Miou Miou
During the Brezhnev era, Andrei Filipov was a prodigy -- the greatest conductor in the Soviet Union and he directed the famous Bolshoi Orchestra. But after refusing to expel his Jewish musicians, including his best friend Sacha, he was fired at the height of his glory. Thirty years later, he is still working at the Bolshoi, but as a cleaner.
When Andrei intercepts a fax from the Theatre du Chatelet inviting the Bolshoi Orchestra to Paris, he comes up with a crazy idea: hell gather up his old musician friends (now working rag-tag jobs), head to Paris and pretend to be the famed orchestra to play Tchaikovsky’s “Violin Concerto. The long-awaited dream to deliver one final performance!
Opening at #1 at the French cinema box-office, The Concert is pure entertainment a warm-hearted, joyous story filled with great wit and humanity. The stirring finale set against Tchaikovskys Concerto is simply magnificent.”
Le Concert -- Interview de Radu Mihaileanu (Director)
The music work which has a central role in the film and is played during the final scene is the Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 by Tchaikovsky.
Filed under: entertainment, media, music, reviews on April 26th, 2010
