6 of 10
Cinematography by Alain Dostie
Colm Feore
Bruno Monsaingeon
Yehudi Menuhin
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| 32 Short Films about Glenn Gould 6 of 10 |
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| Directed by Fran�ois Girard Cinematography by Alain Dostie Colm Feore Bruno Monsaingeon Yehudi Menuhin |
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| Classic art-house stuff, with the typical art-house problems: too much unpredictability, and the serious lack of a strong story line. To be fair, I think that�s sort of the feel that the film was going for. But it just doesn�t work. (And yes, I know that�s a gross over-simplification of art-house fare.) The main structure of the film is an attempt to duplicate the 32 parts of Bach�s Goldberg Variations. So, there are a lot of short little vignettes, some of which are very fine, and some of which are fairly drab. There is one that centers around Gould�s piano that is absolutely amazing; an exercise in cinematography and sound. Another one that shows him at work in the recording studio was wonderfully done, as was a vignette called �Gould Interviews Gould,� written by Glenn Gould himself. In fact, pretty much all the shorts that show him interacting with people in his own very peculiar way are very good. Finally, though, there is just too much random stuff. There is one Fantasia-like animated sequence that provides absolutely nothing to the film, a sequence about him practicing without a piano that goes on far too long, and a couple of �talking head� interviews that leave me pretty darn cold. There is also some downright odd stuff with him as a kid. All in all, though, it is beautifully shot, and a very worthwhile effort despite its failings. Plus, Colm Feore is Glenn Gould. He doesn't play him, he is him. That aspect of it is amazing. I felt like I was watching the man himself once again. | |||||||