Don McKellar

This was a gift from a friend--and one greatly appreciated. It was sumptuously filmed, well-acted and very entertaining. Heard of the cursed Hope diamond? Well, this is about her counterpart among musical instruments, a legendary "red violin" made by a Stradivari-like maker in 17th century Italy and up for auction in present day Montreal. Through flashbacks the film traces the history of the violin and its owners, from it's maker, Nicolo Bussotti, to an 18th century Austrian monastery, 19th show more century Oxford, then China during the Cultural Revolution, finally to return to the film's present in Montreal. The original score by John Corigliano won an Oscar. show less

U.S. rating: R. DVD extras: None! Available subtitles: English, Spanish. Pathetic DVD release of a good film.

2070

It's a great idea for a film: following a wonderful violin through the centuries and through different worlds. The music is grand. Little is missing -- a little more life perhaps. The Chinese sequence is excellent. Definitely you're interested in what happens to the violin in its many lives, and it DOES hang together. The ending, in present day Montreal, is simply a trouvaille.