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And if I have one pet peeve about film generally, it's how film often disrespects music. Another thing I appreciated about this film is that it felt no need to create contrived situations, black hats, or exaggerated conflicts. This film respects that, and honors it. Maybe it's simply music that you listened to privately to work through intense feelings.
I can't think of another film where the music seemed to matter so much to the characters. This film is essentially a musical - but it's not like any other musical I've seen. Music is one of the most precious enrichments of the human experience. So many films use music carelessly. I can deal with a song building to a pitch of emotionalism, but the songs in this film tried to sustain that high pitch more than is my personal taste. But unless a film does this, it can never fully convey the sense of the joy of making music, and how it brings you closer to other people.
It's often treated as a subordinate art, mixed in to add a little punch to the main event, the dramatic narrative. It just shows men and women using music to work out the feelings that arise in their lives. I'm not a musician, but I once aspired to be one. It's not a film that asks you to shift back and forth between plausible dramatic action and wholly implausible musical production numbers. Here the only focus of the scene is the shared satisfaction of making the music itself. For me, though, it all pulsed with sincerity, and I appreciated that feeling. In our cynical age, it somehow seems especially creative, even courageous, to make a film that is not about corruption, ennui, ulterior motives, dysfunctional social structures, or tragic flaws. I am afraid that one of them would put it in the DVD player, decide the music was too plaintive, and start rolling their eyes.
Similarly, a dinner party depicted in the film is significant chiefly for the music that people share during it. The film shows people experiencing this in all its fullness, a special, deeply human experience worth celebrating. Maybe it's a song you've danced to together, or heard together during a special sharing moment. Instead, in this film, the music is central to the action; the characters are making music together, and every piece of music performed in the film is in a context where you fully believe those characters might make music together in that way. The film is shot in a very natural, unobtrusive style; you often feel as though you are just a fly on the wall, whether it's in a repair shop or an apartment. Once is a film that is refreshing in its earnestness and in its respect for the things that add meaning and beauty to our lives.
But I say this not to criticize the film; it's simply to say that you can enjoy and respect this film even if this isn't your favorite musical genre. Not this film. I'm uncertain how much to recommend this film to my friends; it's certainly not Citizen Kane. Favorite genre or no, there is some truly beautiful music here. I saw some moist eyes at film's end.
We are so conditioned in our culture to indulge our societal ADD at the expense of respecting music and its uplifting power. And, it should be said, the music enables the viewer to feel some of the emotion, too. It's more repetitive than I would like, especially so in the lyrics. In a lesser film, the film's studio scene would involve some kind of subplot during the performance - furtive glances, repressed conflicts, other dramatic elements - it's all too easy to imagine.
All in all, I'd wager that few of us have ever fallen in love without music being a big part of the picture. And, I must say, there is no denying that the protagonists do produce some harmonies that are genuinely, hauntingly lovely. Thus, when I first watched this film, I was initially feeling like, "OK, enough of this song, time to cut to something else," - as if sitting through an entire piece of music was more than a film could ask of me. This is a film whose central focus is the way that music forges bonds between people; how music enables us to express our feelings, and not only to better understand but to care about others; and how music is sometimes the most beautiful thing available to grab hold of.
This film reminded me of a conversation I once had with a friend, in which we concluded that for almost every person's romantic moments, music is somehow involved. And I have an issue with music that is too persistently emotive. OK, a small confession: the music in this film isn't really my cup of tea. The characters are real people, dealing with plausible issues - heartbreak, loneliness, parental responsibility, regret, money problems, frustrated hopes - which the film doesn't overplay.
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