The Musicians is a lovely film – much needed when the world beyond is somewhat bruising – with beautiful music, gorgeous scenery, gentle humour and insights into how a quartet must tune in to each other so that there is a seamlessness to their playing. Source: Australian Catholics.
The film tells the story of putting together a performance of cello, viola and two violins made by master luthier Antonio Stradivari.
The musicians selected to perform each have their idiosyncrasies, musical preferences and ways of interpreting a score. They are brought together by heiress Astrid Carlson (Donzelli) for a week of rehearsals prior to a one-off live recording in a local church with excellent acoustics in the French countryside. She is honouring her father’s legacy.
Three of the musicians are classically trained and one, Apolline (Ravier) is a TikTok star with 700,000 followers.
What we see in the movie is the different personalities and how they interact.
When the rehearsals stall amid histrionics from the egotistical first violinist, George (Spinosi), Astrid asks the composer, Charlie Beaumont (Pierrot), to orchestrate a personal and musical harmony within the group before they are recorded live.
He fears they will play something other than what he wrote, so he comes to speak about the feelings behind certain passages so that they play what he hears in his head.
Charlie suggests that they play like a murmuration of starlings where they swoop and swing and lift together in a collective musical consciousness. The other two members of the quartet are reserved cellist Lise (Vialle), who has a romantic history with blind second violinist Peter (Garlitsky), the most measured member of the group.
This film celebrates the beauty of playing together and overcoming the need for individual recognition when collaboration is key. The ultimate performance in the church is splendid, with close-ups of each musician immersing themselves in the moment. Ego is left behind, allowing the music to speak for itself. Highly recommended.
Review by Ann Rennie, Jesuit Media
The Musicians: Starring Valerie Donzelli, Frédèric Pierrot, Matthieu Spinosi, Daniel Garlitsky, Emma Ravier, Marie Vialle. Directed by Gregory Magne, 102 minutes. Rated: PG Parental guidance
FULL REVIEW
The Musicians (Australian Catholics)
