Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Movie Recommendation...
This past weekend, I walked up to the lovely old Edina Cinema and saw A Late Quartet. It was a wonderful few hours.
The movie is all based on Beethoven's 14th String Quartet, Opus 131, which is a legendary work in seven movements. As the character played by Christopher Walken explains at the start of the movie (to a class he is teaching), the challenge of 131 is that because Beethoven requires it to be played without break a between the movements, there can be no moment of rest, or opportunity to tune the instruments. So, it demands this amazing act of improvisation towards the end, as at least some of the four instruments get out of tune, and the players have to adjust to that, and then to the out-of-tune adjustments by the other players. In the movie, the quartet (which has been together for 25 years) is going through exactly that-- a falling apart that can lead either to disaster or to grace and beauty, or some of both. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Katherine Keener are in it, but it is Christopher Walken who is most memorable, as the only one who truly sees what is happening.
So, either that or you can wait it out for "Ironman 3."
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nice recommendation - will have to wait until it hits RedBox since there are no movie theaters nearby.
One other thought: I am skeptical that PSH and Katherine Keener are merely in it. I will see it and report back my findings.
@Mark, Sorry to seem so argumentative on a minor point like that--it just happens to stumble into one of my pet peeves on what makes good cinema work.
There's no doubt that this is an ensemble cast-- the four principles are all very important, and very good.
I wanted to see the movie when I first saw the trailer before it came to theatres. I don’t know why I didn’t yet. Opus 131 is just like life, no breaks and a constant challenge to improvise and adjust. Unlike Opus 131 though, life offers no other date for an encore, so fine tuning is all about not taking anything for granted, even when all sounds fine. Today sounds just like yesterday, but I know it is not and I’m grateful for it (last year at this very time I had just found out I had to look for another job by the end of the academic year, what I didn’t know was that I would have an offer two weeks later). Also today in my life book it says I turned 47 and by some stupid partitur it sounds like I’m over the hill, but I will still cringe in protest when I’m called that dreadful “ma’am” and will still continue to keep my ear to the ground and listen to all there is to hear.
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