Tous les matins du monde (1991)

Gérard Depardieu plays a court composer at Versailles whose sense of artistic emptiness causes him to reflect upon his old music teacher (Jean-Pierre Marielle), a man who taught him more than music but whom he ultimately betrayed. (The younger version of Depardieu's character is portrayed by the actor's son, Guillaume.) Alain Corneau's gorgeous 1991 film has a slow, deliberative air about it, with little dialogue and a painterly look (shot by cinematographer-director Yves Angelo, maker of Colonel Chabert) that paradoxically inspires both excitement and meditation. A period costume piece that chooses to understate pageantry for ideas and emotions, this film is quite special. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com essential video

a parable of grief and ambition

I didn't realize as I watched the film the first time that it was inspired by actual lives -- Sainte-Colombe and Marin Marais are important figures in the history of music -- nor was it clear to me, until I did some research, how the film connected with important theological controversies of the 17th century. Hearing that Sainte-Colombe was "a reformer," I took that to mean that he was a Calvinist and thus was confused to see him, in a later scene, in what was clearly a Catholic church. (The film makes me want to know more about Jansenism, about which until now all I knew was that it was linked with an extreme and gloomy asceticism. Until now I hadn't thought of it as a stream of Catholicism profoundly influenced of Calvinism.)

It was striking to see how Sainte-Colombe's form of Christianity, as depicted in the film, lacked a paschal dimension. He was a prisoner of his grief and found a degree of comfort only in the occasional apparitions of his wife, while being unable to express love to his two daughters or indeed to express love to anyone. As a result one tragedy gives birth to another -- his daughter's Madeline's entombment in self-loathing and grief leading finally to her suicide, and the bottomless sorrow of Marin Marais, who only too late realizes that his ambitions so overwhelmed him that he abandoned the one person who loved him unreservedly.

I suppose not much of the story is true to the actual lives of those we meet in the film, about which so little is known, but it has its own authenticity, similar to Pushkin's parable about Mozart and Salieri, and the film "Amadeus."

Both the music and photography are remarkable. Like so many others who have seen the film, I've now ordered a CD of the film's music, though we already have a number of recordings of Jordi Savall and the other musicians he works with. November 11, 2008

"In Search of Perfect Sound"

"For the time before we were born, before we breathed, before we saw light."

I first saw this film in the early '90's shortly after it was released in Los Angeles. I recently viewed it again. The film's message is a profound comment on the life and spirit and gift of music and the great importance of those who teach and guide us. The story is a metaphor for the passion of the music. It paints a picture of extremes. It is also a metaphor for listening or failing to listen. It is not a factual account of the life of Sainte-Colombe as little is known for certainty about Sainte-Colombe's life. See the online research of Jonathan Dunford for more information.

This, however, is a review of the bonus feature documentary interview with Jordi Savall, "In Search of Perfect Sound" which accompanies this disc. I have watched this interview a number of times over the past few years and I am always inspired by it and take something new from it with each viewing/listening. I do not think this interview has been discussed in detail by the other reviewers. To my thinking, the interview, alone, is worth the price of the DVD.

In addition to discussing his work on this film, Jordi Savall discusses the role of the musician in listening, subtlety interpreting and bringing new life to every performance of a piece of music. He discusses the interpretation and play of Early Music, characterizing the music as vivacious and alive versus sterile and rigid. He discusses his own education and training, his development of "the inner ear" and his discovery of the viola da gamba, the literature of this instrument and his research and ultimate resurrection of the viola de gamba and its literature for late 20th and 21st century audiences. The true life of the music, the "perfect sound" is in the quest to express a universality, with the effort toward an ideal being achieved through this experience and exploration of the uniqueness of each note.

Some important points:

* Each note needs to be explored and experienced separately in order to find its uniqueness to guard against a mechanical versus ideal approach to playing music.

* Early music with is embellishments and accents give the player and listener an illustration of how this type of music was played at the time it was written and first performed. This music is constantly drawing on the imagination and forces the player to keep an open mind and find new interpretation with each play/performance.

* He credits his early exposure to Gregorian chant in Jesuit school as integral to his early music training and the formation of the "inner ear."

* The beauty of musical interpretation depends on technical mastery of the instrument as well as the style of music being played. The musician needs to fuse the different elements that make up the music - to strike a balance between the need for freedom and the need for discipline.

* "I feel we have the wrong idea about early music which is often viewed as sterile and archaic . . . In early music the creative effort is extremely important. Most early music from before the 17th century, most medieval music in fact, is known to us in a very elementary form. It needs to be explored through improvisation and in developing new ideas. But this can only be done with a creative spirit."

This is a substantial 65 minute, rarely seen interview with Jordi Savall providing insightful thoughts toward music as meditation and a music which grows by way of exploration. The interview includes highlights of performances in Vienna, Austria and Barcelona of Jordi Savall, Hesperion XX, Montserrat Figueras and Le Concert des Nations. November 5, 2008

Music for your soul or for the fame and fortune?

The central theme of this movie is what is music for? To master Sainte Colombo, it is for expression and exploration of the soul, where words cannot go there, music as a meditation and communing with the sorrows and passion. To the young Marin Marias it is a means to fame, fortune, success, a job in the king's court.

The two viewpoints are interconnected when the young Marin Marias enters the lives of Sainte Colombe and his two daughters. The family had been in perpetual mourning for the death of Mrs. Sainte Colombe, with the father retiring into a garden hut to commune with his music and ghostly visitations from his dead wife. The daughters were left to fend for themselves, and the appearance of a young man sparks their interest. After initially refusing to take him in as a student, he relents to his daughters. One thing leads to another, and after using both the hospitality of Sainte Colombe, and leaving his elderly daughter broken and ruined, Marin Marais gets what he wants which is a position as musician in the king's court.

But all of the fame, fortune and glamour cannot satisfy him, so he returns to search out his old teacher, to find the great secret meaning of music. The master asks him what music means, and Marin guesses again and again without finding the answer. Finally he gives up and has a final lesson (first lesson from Master Sainte Colombe's point of view). And he has learned that music goes beyond words, and into a realm beyond touching death and man's temporary existence.

The second disc contains a wonderful documentary of Jordi Savall, the viol soloist who plays for the soundtrack of the film. It is 45 minutes, including interviews, performances, and explanations of how the viol da gamba captures the heartstrings of musically sensitive people. The two disc collection is well worth the price, as learning about music and the search for perfect sound to express that which cannot be done with words is a priceless educational process. July 6, 2008

What else to say?

After reading 40 reviews, and studying a portion of the music myself, I find there is a sense of unrelieved sadness in this film. You WANT there to be some actual living communication. But I believe the point of the film lies in the daughters' sung duet near the beginning. The chanson "Il etait une Jeune Fillette" was one of the most popular songs of the time, translated into 5 languages over 2 centuries. It deals with the desire of a girl to die because her parents have sent her to a Convent rather than allow her to seek her true love, all for their own status in the world (and maybe the next as well). The notion of the imposition of parental will on offspring is a timeless issue in therapy and in creative work, and the inability to say what you feel is close behind. Even aside from the beautiful, expressive musical harmonies, perhaps the point of the story is how poor and inexpressive the harmonies can be between people. July 5, 2008

tous les matins...

Since I bought it as a present I did not see it, but no doubts it is one of the best films I have ever seen. May 19, 2008

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