Blog Archives
Flash Movie Review: American Symphony
CREATIVE PEOPLE GET THEIR CREATIVITY FROM the right side of their brain. I should know because I consider myself to be a creative person. Any decisions I make first utilize the right side of my brain before filtering over to the left side to add logic into the decision. For example, when I walked into the attic of my house and saw a hole in it, which explained the wet spot on my dining room ceiling, I did not immediately think I needed to patch the hole up. I first thought about hiring someone to fill the hole with glass bricks to bring natural light into the attic. Next, I wondered if I could install an attic fan into the hole to draw out the stifling air from summer. Those were my two thoughts before the left side of the brain kicked in and I ran to call the insurance company. Some people have a challenging time using both parts of the brain; hang around a group of actors and you will understand. I am not saying either way is good or bad, I just mean challenges can develop from the situation. For me, when I am baking a dessert, the instructions must be exact. If they are not, I will stop and wonder what the author is trying to say and usually come up with a variety of ways that may not necessarily work for the recipe. My example is, a “pinch.” How much is a pinch? Do you see what I mean? THERE HAVE BEEN INCIDENTS WHERE I have had to force myself to use both sides of my brain at the same time. I was hospitalized with a case of E Coli some time ago. While I was on the road to recovery, I had to work on my new class sessions. Trying to create physically challenging formats for the members to follow while not feeling well was rough for me. My mind wanted to work on the exercise routines, but my body was not in shape to undertake such a thing. I wound up drawing out the movements to match the beats of several different songs, then would do the leg and arm movements while seated in a chair. I had to watch and monitor my fatigue level and many times just imagine the movements in my head. It was hard to stay on the beat, so I had to count them out as well. With my limited experiences, I am in total awe of what the main characters tried to achieve in this heartfelt, Oscar nominated biographical music documentary. AS MUSICIAN JON BATISTE SETS OUT to create a symphony that will be debuted at Carnegie Hall, his life partner, writer Suleika Jaouad, begins her journey with cancer treatments. How will each be there to support the other? Directed by Matthew Heineman (A Private War, City of Ghosts), this film had scenes filled with a variety of celebrities such as James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Questlove, Lenny Kravitz and Jonathan Dinklage. Having had very little exposure to Jon Batiste, I was enthralled with Jon’s creativity. The story is such an intimate one and the director did a beautiful job of never having the camera work come off as an intrusion. The story itself is incredible; to see such opposing forces as cancer and musicmaking vying to be in the forefront added a level of tension as the story unfolded. Creating and presenting a new symphony in the way Jon wanted to do it was already a huge undertaking; then add in Suleika’s medical issues and I cannot see how someone could not be drawn into the story. I also feel one does not have to be a fan of Jon’s style of music to appreciate what transpires in this lovely documentary.
3 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Tar
I HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED IN AMAZEMENT how composers create symphonic musical compositions. Not to take away any accolades from sonatas or cadenzas; but I cannot understand how a composer can hear all the musical instruments in their head, then put it all down on paper. My first exposure to a live, classical music concert was prior to me going into kindergarten. I remember it was a Beethoven symphony. The conductor was an older gentleman with salt and pepper colored hair. Just before he was to start, he tapped the top of his music stand with his baton, to get everyone’s attention in the orchestra. Up until that point, members of the orchestra were fiddling with their musical instruments; at least from my perspective as a young child, it appeared to me they were goofing around playing random notes. I did not know they were tuning and warming themselves up before they were to perform. With different sections of the orchestra making themselves known at different times, I did not know where to look first; it all seemed a bit magical to me. And then there is this one man, the conductor, steering the players from beginning to end. Granted when I was small, I was not clear on what exactly the conductor was doing. I was able to understand when he wanted the members to play louder or softer, but some of his arm gestures confused me. Nonetheless, sitting through that symphony sparked my interest in classical music to the point where I eventually took piano lessons. SOMETIME SOON AFTER SEEING THAT CONCERT, I was going downtown on the train. We were sitting in the car where the conductor was stationed. They would go from one side of the train car to the other, depending on which side the doors were facing the train stations. It was their job to open and close the doors. I watched them at each stop, sticking their head out the window before opening the doors with a flip of one switch. They continued in that position until they determined it was time to close the doors and come back inside. As I was watching them, I made the connection that they and the orchestra conductor both had this power to move people into action. To me, it was like they had a special power like a superhero. Just with a flip of a finger the train conductor could grant or deny access to anyone they so desired. The musical conductor, with a wave of their wand, could make someone stop or start playing their instrument. I was curious to know how that power must have felt for them and how they managed it. If what I saw in this music drama is an indication, then I will need to rethink my feelings about orchestra conductors. JUST AS A BOOK DEBUT AND live recording are about to take place, a famous conductor’s past reemerges to topple her greatest feats. With Cate Blanchett (Don’t Look Up, Thor: Ragnarok) as Lydia Tar, Noemie Merlant (Paper Flags, Portrait of a Lady on Fire) as Francesca Lentini, Nina Hoss (A Most Wanted Man, Phoenix) as Sharon Goodnow, newcomer Sophie Kauer as Olga Metkina and Mark Strong (The Catcher was a Spy, Shazam!) as Eliot Kaplan; this Oscar nominated film had as its driving force Cate’s performance. She was outstanding in the role. I thought the whole cast gelled well together, despite the weakness in the script. I encountered several confusing scenes, where I was trying to figure out who to be sorry for. From what I have been told afterwards, there are musical misconceptions in this picture. I also found scenes that were not 100% believable. There was a weird mix between stellar and weak scenes that prevented the story from flowing out like a beautiful concerto.
2 ¾ stars
moviejoltz 