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All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review
The Red Violin
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 out of 4
| *Also starring: | Carlo Cecchi, Jean-Luc Bideau, Sylvia Chang, Colm Feore, Jason Flemyng, Irene Grazioli, Christoph Koncz |
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Review by Akiva Gottlieb
2½ stars out of 4
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In Francois Girard's "Red Violin", the title object changes hands many
times over the course of two centuries, but it is never made clear to
whom, how and why this happens. The journey takes us from a modern
Canadian setting where the flawless violin is being auctioned, to
Vienna, China, Oxford and Italy before returning to the auction. This
foreign-language ensemble piece has some noteworthy moments in each of
its segments but on the whole it's a mess. As I already mentioned, not
much is made clear, so the segments don't have a connection. It seems
to be a different violin in each part. The standout in a fine cast is
Samuel L. Jackson, taking a different path this time around as a
Canadian violin expert. Don't worry, fans; Jackson shows off his
trademark tenacity yelling at a hotel manager. Director Francois
Girard and writer/actor Don McKellar, who combined their talents on
"Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould", have crafted a film that
is interesting at times, and dull at times. The main flaw of "The Red
Violin" is that it doesn't use its title object to connect the
stories. I recommend this film to fans of classical music; all others
steer clear.
Copyright © 1998 Akiva Gottlieb
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