Even the English-language title is a bit corny in this wide-eyed Father/Son tale of a small-town violin prodigy and self-effacing dad who head to the big city (Beijing) to find a music conservatory professor willing to help the boy’s natural talent take wing. Why not embrace corny since the film’s legitimate sentiment plays like some semi-classic/half-remembered Hollywood fable. (Though more over-processed 1940s than rougher-textured ‘30s.*) With two standout perfs from Father Peiqi Liu (pushy, proud, persuasive) and disheveled teacher Zhiwen Wang (definitely not using cat-gut strings). These two splitting nominations and awards at all the Asian Film Contests that year. And with writer/director Kaige Chen doing triple duty by playing the well-connected violin professor who takes over when 13-tr-old Yun Tang switches masters for the third act competition. Unexpected complications come with a Party Girl neighbor who hires the boy to play for her (watch for a lift straight out of Chaplin’s THE GOLD RUSH/’25); a rival student with chops but no passion; and note the far more sophisticated choice in music selections than usual. Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto for the big competition, but also a sneaky bit of commentary from Gershwin’s ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’ (in the Heifetz transcription) and especially in the film score’s main throb going to Max Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy: third movement. A three-hanky sob-fest all on its own. The film’s inevitable father/son finale both manipulative and ridiculously moving thanks to director Chen’s smash editing, pulling off a win-win/have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too ending.
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: *Golden-Age Hollywood's go-to teenage coloratura, Deanna Durbin, could do this sort of thing with blinders on. Peaking with the Father/Daughter/Depression number 100 MEN AND A GIRL/’37. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2020/03/100-men-and-girl-1937.html
No comments:
Post a Comment