Driven by isolation, passion, obsession and music booming with masterful grandeur, director Gabriele Fabbro's "The Great Bolero" demands the biggest screen possible.
Set in northern Italy during the early days of the COVID pandemic, this genre-bending story takes place primarily in one location: a massive church dating back to the 1700s. Inside resides a pipe organ restorer. jaded named Roxanne (Lidia Vitale) and Paolo (Marcello Mariani), who maintains the church, continually ringing "the death bell" as the pandemic's casualties mount. After Roxanne's assistant dies, Paolo insists that Roxanne hire a 20-year-old mute assistant named Lucia (Ludovica Mancini) to take care of the old instruments and bring Lucia back to life in exchange for food, music lessons, and music lessons. and a place to sleep. Roxanne treats Lucia like a subhuman, strictly enforcing her rules and waking her up every morning by exploding her organs with all her might. Still, Lucia is a bubbly and persistent soul, and quite the musician herself, catching Roxanne off guard and building a possibly romantic connection with her. As Roxanne's attachment grows, "The Grand Bolero" evolves into something far more sinister, as each part holds her secrets, bubbling to the surface in sometimes explosive ways.
Director: Gabriele Fabbro
Writers: Gabriele Fabbro, Ydalie Turk
Stars: Lidia Vitale, Brandon Koen, Ludovica Mancini
Although Fabbro's film becomes unwieldy in its final act, “The Grand Bolero” captures a rich sense of place with intriguing characters brought to life by excellent acting and one of the best scores of the year.
In fact, "The Grand Bolero" thrives on creating moods. We hear the wind blowing through the groaning walls, the tactile creak of story-baked floorboards, and boisterous organs creating fleeting moments of harmony and elation longed for by Roxanne in particular, all while Fabbro deftly guides us through through the spacious but claustrophobic structure. COVID is presented more as a backdrop to the proceedings, but in the sequences where the characters leave the church, cinematographer Jessica La Malfa's camera renders their setting as downright post-apocalyptic, with gray skies, thick fog and ambulance sirens singing softly in the background.
The score, by Sean Goldman, Martino Lurani Cernuschi and Paolo Sanvito, is adapted from works by classical composers including Ravel, Wagner and Tchaikovsky, among many others, and is a lavish accompaniment to the on-screen drama, channeling the burgeoning central duo. . love for each other, as well as giving Shakespeare's weight to madness in the second half. This music is its own character in the film, capitalizing on the animalistic impulses of the characters as if, in some strange way, it judges them.
In terms of characterization, "The Grand Bolero" doesn't shine that brightly, but it does have some complexity nonetheless. Roxanne remains a mysterious presence to the end, with a misanthropic view of humanity that lends itself to both moments of dry wit and immoral decisions. Vitale, a legendary Italian star, expresses Roxanne's brash behavior and inner demons with a mysterious and worn performance where we are never sure what Roxanne will do to achieve her goals. Mancini, given less material to work with, also takes a shocking turn as Lucia, an energetic and optimistic young woman who has somehow managed to survive without resources or the ability to communicate effectively with those around her. We don't get much insight into the backstories of either character, ultimately to the film's detriment, but "The Grand Bolero" makes their relationship satisfying to watch unfold, always buoyed by their shared adoration of organs. of caring tubes.
So it's disappointing that the contemplative, slow-building approach of the first half devolves into chaos that's too melodramatic and serious for its own good. Without having enough grounding for the character of Roxanne especially, the life-changing decisions seem awkward and over the top. No spoilers here, but the film's drift into suspense territory is hard to take as seriously as Fabbro and co-writer Ydalie Turk intended.
Complaints aside, however, “The Grand Bolero” is a technically impressive and carefully crafted production. Few films this year have used music to such expressive heights, and there's definitely merit in a narrative that doesn't use COVID as a means of speaking to audiences.
Watch The Grand Bolero 2022 Movie Trailer
Comments
Post a Comment