The Red Violin (1999)

Sorry, this movie sucks

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The Red Violin is an absolutely wonderful historical romance adventure, following a "perfect" violin through the Centuries and through the lives of the people who come under its influence. Samuel Jackson loses the language, but not the look of a man criminally obsessed and determined to obtain Red Violin for himself and his child. The story unfolds in an assortment of non English tongues, so the dialogue is subtitled throughout. There is a great sound track that adds emotional intensity even when the action is subdued. There is just enough science in it to capture the geek, and just enough punishment of pompous conceit to satisfy one's sense of poetic justice. I love this movie.

The Red Violin is actually a two part story. The main story is about Morgan Freeman's character, Charles Morritz. He is musical instrument historian trying to authenticate the Red Violin's origin. The secondary story is the history of the violin from the very beginning in 1681. The theme of the red violin is the journey of one particular item and the lives it can change. The main characters in the film are Morgan Freeman, Charles Morritz, plays a musical instrument historian trying to authenticate the origin of the red violin. Carlo Cecchi plays Nicolo Bussotti. Irene Grazoli plays Anna Rudolphi Bussotti, Nicolo pregnant wife. Anita Laurenzi who plays Cesca Anna's servant and performs the tarot card reading. Christoph Koncz, Kasper Weiss. After Anna's death, the violin was donated to an orphanage in Austria and for the next 100 years many boys played this particular violin. Until Kasper Weiss received the violin and he made it sing. He also was attached to his instrument so much so he would sleep with it. It meant the world to him. He died playing that instrument. The next stop is Oxford, London and it is played by Jason Fleming as Frederick Pope and to him the violin is good and bad. It brings out the best in him musically but personally it destroys his family. So much so his girlfriend shoots the violin grazing the neck. He is smoking Opium and is in the arms of another. He commits suicide and leaves his entire estate to his girlfriend. The violin, however he leaves to his Chinese servant. The violin then moves on Shanghi, China. During this time period the violin must be in hiding because anything to do with Western culture is banned and destroyed. Its final stop an auction house in 1997, where Charles Morritz finally proved it was the original Red Violin. He switched it with one of the really good fakes and took it home to his daughter. Violin3The characters throughout the movie have a special relationship with this violin and it helps many to overcome fears and gives them confidence in themselves. The setting of the movie takes place on five different places and each place is as real as it gets. The rich red color of the violin is amazing. When you craft something for the one you love, of course it is going to be perfect. In its life span it had made many people happy and sad. The journey of life is not all about the things we collect, but the few that we do are special and we want to hold on to them.

This movie has been on my list of movies to watch, but for some reason I simply never got around to it. Finally, I had the pleasure of viewing it last night at home in HD and was pleasantly surprised. I knew it had received high ratings, but I had never expected it to be so good. I am really not an intellectual person, but I could really appreciate the emotional history of this instrument. Without giving too much away, it seemed like this red violin had a life of it's own. I wish I could have given it a higher rating then 10. Quit putting this off and watch it. You will be glad you did. There are a few subtitles, which I don't usually care for, but I got use to it very quickly. Two thumbs up!!!

The history of a famous violin, as it changes hands over centuries, provides the framework for this episodic film. The cinematography, particularly in the period episodes, is exquisite, and the score is nice. However, the segmented structure makes it difficult to become involved with the story and the characters. The dialog in the Oxford segment is laughably bad. The Chinese segment belongs in another movie. The Montreal segment, which the story centers around, is repetitious and uninteresting. Other than the violin, there is nothing compelling holding the segments of the film together, and it tends to drag due to its excessive length.