THE CONCERT [Radu Mihaileanu, Romania 2009] - film review by Mandibil

I was surprised to find that this is actually a comic melodrama, rather than a "serious" artistic film. I guess it is just my prejudice from the presentation on the DVD case. A Romanian directed film about a Russian orchestra pretending to be the Bolshoi going to Paris for a concert, sounds like an interesting plot, so lets dive in.

A superannuated conductor, who worked for the Bolshoi back in the days of the Soviet Union, tries to bring together his old musical colleagues, when he finds an invitation for the Bolshoi, where he works as a janitor. Most of the runtime deals with finding all the old friends and dealing with all the practical problems of getting resources and planning the concert via the phone with the french organizers. They eventually sort things out and arrives in France. There is a McGuffin side story of the invited solo violinist who is actually the conductors daughter, or at least that is what we are led to believe. The Russian musicians are highly disorganized and cannot show up on time for rehearsals and so on. But against all odds they, manage to pull it all together and perform the concert to standing ovations.

This is a theme that we have seen time and time again in various forms. I am actually surprised that this film manages to stretch it for two hours without me losing my interest. I guess the inevitable climax was build so high that I just had to experience it. And I must admit, despite the sentimentality and all the clichés, I was moved by it. Maybe i am just becoming an old sob, because the movie is not that great really. You know exactly what to expect a few minutes into it. The drunk but genius artist who rediscovers his power. The funny but slightly corny friends. The childish Russian musicians, that are supposed to be funny because they do not know how to behave outside their low Russian daily-life. The gathering of the friends who all rise to the occasion and save the day despite all odds.

The acting is ok, without anything standing out. It is mostly empty calories that feels fine when consuming but leaves no trace or emotions inside you. There are lots of highly agitated scenes that does not bring the story much further or brings the characters closer to you. But at the same time there are no faults anywhere and i guess that, despite the corny humor and predictability, you want to see them succeed, play beautifully and receive their well earned prize. It is basically a "feel-good" movie as it is usually called that will not offend anyone, but not get the juices flowing in the serious film fan either.

Rating: 4/10