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THE RED VIOLIN Send This Review to a Friend
Veering between the fascinating and the absurd, this drama traces the path of a violin
made by a master craftsman through its journey of three centuries. The silliest scene
involves a composer who finds it stimulating to play the violin while making love. As a
teenager I studied the violin. Had I realized then that it could be used as an aphrodisiac I
might not have quit.
The saga includes the tragic death of the craftsman's wife in the 17th century, the story of
an orphan in Austria who becomes a prodigy, the violin's role in an ill-fated romance,
and its role during the repressive Chinese cultural revolution of the 1960s. The action flits
between the present-day auction of the violin in Montreal and tarot card readings in the
17th century predicting the course of events.
The plot thickens when an expert appraiser for the auction house (Samuel L. Jackson) is
called in for purposes of evaluation and authentication but has an agenda of his own. The
story is involving, although the tarot card bit is overbearing and unnecessary. Careful
attention is paid to the look of the film in its various locations--Austria, Italy, England,
China and Canada-- and to the music that enhances the ambience. Themes inherent in the
story add interest, such as the pressure to succeed that overwhelms the child prodigy and
the love of an instrument and music versus looking upon a violin purely in terms of its
commercial value.
In addition to the crisp, convincing acting of Jackson, particularly effective performances
are given by Greta Scacchi and Sylvia Chang. The script, sometimes clever, sometimes
pretentious, was written by Don McKellar and Francois Girard. The director, Girard,
made the much-praised "Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould." A Lions Gate
release.
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