Review of Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993) by Scott R — 21 Jul 2014

I do quite like the concept of "film portraits" and I think this film had the potential to be very innovative. however, I think this film, despite a few interesting tidbits, was on the whole poorly executed, monochromatic, and disappointingly canadian.

the "vignettes" were all focused on a very narrow subject matter, without really having a thematic center - they tried to follow gould's life in a somewhat chronological fashion, which I think was the least creative choice, given the possibility and potential of the vignette medium.

I would have much preferred to see various scenes/moments from the different aspects of gould's life, or more interactions of him with other people. the film as it stood was a collection of interviews, either fictional, or documentary-based, and some experimental footage set to gould's music.

there was much untapped and unexplored in this film. it also soon became painfully clear that the film was trying to avoid showing gould play the piano because the actor wouldn't be able to play at the required level.

overall, very bland and distinctly canadian. I don't understand how or why, but I always find canadian films evoke a sense of listlessness, as if lacking life force, or purpose, and this film was no exception.