29th IFF Opening

First of a series of posts on the 29th International Istanbul Film Festival

The opening night. Somehow, the film always ends up being disappointing. Last year it was Welcome - depressing. This year, it was a crowd-pleaser, and I seem to be the only person who strongly disliked it. Le Concert is about a former orchestra miraculously playing in Paris and reaching "the ultimate harmony". Considering they hadn't played together in 30 years and their soloist never actually performed Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, it's rather surreal how it all works out.

Here are my three problems with the film:
- Dubbed in French. Granted, this is the distributor's fault, but having a bunch o Russians speak French to one another distracts me. A lot.
- Simplistic. Way too simplistic. Everything 'just happens to' fall into perfect place. Beyond predictable, annoying. And insulting to musicians who actually have to practice and rehearse once or twice before they go on stage.
- Show & tell. In a flashback scene during the grand finale (the concert - d'oh), everything is spelled out, shown, and explained with a voice-over. That was the main reason I hated Issiz Adam, and I feel about the same here.