Maestro (4.5*)
American Symphony (4*)
Robot Dreams (3.5*)
The so-called “Music” genre is, in my opinions, a pretty stupid idea. To make things clear, this is not the same as the “Musical” genre which I genuinely believe is ok. Instead, this group of movies supposedly involves something to do with people involved in the music world, or maybe, in the case of one of this year’s nominees, involves a particular song that plays over and over. If we really wanted a genre to cover the somewhat different experiences of people in the music world, we should acknowledge that their experiences aren’t a whole lot different than anyone involved in an artistic, or creative endeavor. So, what I’m saying, I think, is maybe we need a “Creatives” genre that would cover a whole world of creative people and efforts, which would include musicians, artists, architects, writers and anyone else who lives in that kind of world!.
But when we limit it to just music films, then we usually don’t have a whole lot of movies to talk about. And this year, there are just three and, although I recommend all three of them, the last one isn’t really like the other two and probably doesn’t belong here. But I don’t make the rules, so here we go.
I enjoyed Maestro a lot, but, frankly, very few other people did. The movie is the story of Leonard Bernstein, and that topic probably explains its rank at the bottom of all 24 general interest movies nominated for Oscars. The film is a balanced portrayal of the relationship between Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) and his wife Felicia (Carey Mulligan), his rise in the music world and how he deals with his wife’s medical issues. Clearly it lives in both the music and romance genres, and is a much better movie than people generally gave it credit for.
The second film in this genre, American Symphony, also deals with a musician, Jon Batiste and his early rise including his role, as a young man, attending Juilliard, becoming band leader for Stephen Colbert, making an outstanding showing at the Grammy’s, and debuting a new-concept symphony at Carnegie Hall. Oh, and he did all this while his wife was encountering a second bout of leukemia!. And, by the way, this is a documentary told in an entirely observational style. So another great entry in the genre.
Robot Dreams is a good enough movie to deserve a viewing, but I don’t really get why it is in this genre. Sure there is some good music in the soundtrack and one song in particular that seems to play a recurring theme in the storyline, but neither of the characters are musicians in any sense of the word. Oh, and this is an animated flick, and the main characters are a dog and a robot, so it doesn’t really exist along the same dimensions as the other two. But somebody decided it belonged in this genre, so see it, but maybe not because it involves “music”.
Last year there were only two Music films but both of them were great. Elvis (4.5*) is obviously a biopic of Mr. Presley. It emphasizes his relationship with his manager Colonel Tom Parker. Definitely worth a viewing if you have an interest in Presley or rock and roll. Tar (5*) is a terrific movie that turns a female symphony conductor, nearing the pinnacle of her career, into something of a predator and, if we are to understand things right, she begins to lose her perspective on what is real and what is not.
Five great music films to keep you going through several different kinds of music experiences!
