Review of The Red Violin (1998) by Karl Edgar T — 21 Jul 2014

This was an interesting, at times ridiculous film. I think it did a good job of making us care about the violin and actually seeing it as a protagonist rather than the characters around it. but there was definitely a disparity between the quality of stories - some of them, like the story with the little boy with the heart problem, were actually touching, whereas other stories, like the one about the british violin player who could only compose during sex were laughable.

in all I think this film was typically canadian, in that it had a single reveal which made the entire story make sense, but because it kept it from the audience for the majority of the film, we watched, not really understanding what was special about the violin or why it was linked to the fortune-teller's prediction.

I think this film would have been more effective if it had a coherent story outside of the reveal, that would make watching the actual film a memorable experience, rather than just waiting for the moment when it all makes sense.

also, even with samuel l jackson starring, this film still managed to retain that quintessentially canadian boringness/mundanity that permeates all their films.