Arts Movie Reviews

We took a chance with this one, and what a score!! The Paris Opera Ballet School did an enchanting version of Coppelia. They included only acts I and II (no wedding scene), which seemed perfect! As a bonus, there is a documentary about the school, itself, which was fantastic!

In 1941, after having their friendship interrupted by World War II, Werner Heisenberg set off to Denmark to visit with his old friend & mentor, Niels Bohr. What, precisely, took place at this rendezvous has been debated for over 60 years by scientists, philosophers of science, historians of science & even laymen.

The present film is a re-enactment of this meeting, based on the play written by Michael Frayn. Much of the discussions could have possibly taken place, in some form or other. Of course, only Bohr and Heisenberg could say for sure. Alas, both are long since deceased.

At stake in the story is the $60,000 question: was Heisenberg in Copenhagen to coerce Bohr to help the Nazis with the development of the atomic bomb? Was he there to entice his old friend to solicit information on the American efforts (Manhattan project)? Were his overtures MISUNDERSTOOD by Bohr, compelling the latter to mis-construe any of the above? Or, did Heisenberg simply visit his colleague in hopes of challenging him to a game of tiddly-winks?

This story will not provide the answer, but it will certainly offer new avenues to ask the questions in the appropriate context. The film often references Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle and is told in a rather Twilight-Zone-esque fashion. A nice twist is the fact that the storyline makes a nexus of the everyday-world with the abstract realm of theoretical physics.

Almost as important as the subject matter of the film is the acting. There are only 3 characters in the storyline: Heisenberg, Bohr and Bohr's common sense-laden wife. The acting thus takes on extra-importance, and all three actors come thru brilliantly.

The Cambridge physicist John Gribbin once wrote that "In the quantum world what you see is what you get and nothing is real. All you can possibly hope for are a set of delusions that agree with each other." Maybe, just maybe, this statement applies to interpersonal relationships as well.

I was fortunate to see this play during it's Broadway run. While it was brilliantly acted, directed and was able to add one chilling element the film can't (the onstage audience in the elevated gallery, always looking like a silent jury)at times I had trouble following when we were seeing a flashback, an inner dialogue, or plot development. (The physics in the play is quite well presented but trust me, don't have that second tequilla shot before the curtain, no matter what!You really have to be on the ball for this one.) However, now having seen the film twice, many things come clear. The magic of film allows the players to think private thoughts without us mistaking them for side comments being made under the breath. Also, it is very clear when we are listening to the ghosts and the live players. But what REALLY gave me an ah-ha moment was when I finally saw that the play is crafted to mimic the act of nuclear fission. Instead of a neutron colliding with and splitting an atom into several directions, setting off a chain reaction, we witness two brilliant physicists colliding, also under forced circumstances and the split is represented by the various possible outcomes of that collision. We view several versions of the same encounter, each with different implications and motives. I can't wait to see this again and see where bells "ding" for me this time. The score is haunting and adds a great deal, as solo piano is unsurpassed in evoking a sense of isolation and loneliness. Acting is uniformly solid. I know I'll get lambasted for this, but I really preferred this cast over the b'way cast, especially Steven Rea, who added just a touch of melancholy to the role that I don't remember in the original. Give it a try. You may come away with the uneasy feeling that in a roundabout way, these men may have saved our planet.

Based on historical events which are still poorly undertsood, this movie depicts Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr - the titans of quantum mechanics in its halcyon days during the 1920s and 1930s - caught in an encounter which is a loose human analogy to Heisenberg's famous uncertainty principle (which demonstrates mathematically that you cannot know both the exact speed and position of a single electron). Drawing from the Tony Award-winning play by Michael Frayn (who also wrote Noises Off), the movie revolves around the dialogue between these two men (sometimes together with Bohr's wife) who meet in Copenhagen in 1942 when Heisenberg, the German, who has been placed within the scientific research progam of the Nazis in their quest to build a nuclear bomb, visits his mentor and colleague Bohr, the Dane who is living through Nazi occupation of his native land. There are deep unresolved questions about the motives of Heisenberg which the characters try to resolve in a series of talks and walks through the same park where the two physicists previoulsy stolled to debate the ideas which came to form the foundation of quantum physics. Set against a piano score which resonates with the inner sense of uncertainty and suspicion in the dialogue, the movie achieves some the things that the big stage does not allow, including flashbacks and scenes ranging back and forth between the park and Bohr's home. [Note: I enjoyed the movie as much as the play]. In an era where cinematic palates seem titillated mostly by fast action thrillers, this movie is another example of how well constructed dialogue makes for gripping cinematic drama when it goes hand in hand with superb casting and performance.

A interesting sacred programme: Pergolesi's Stabat Mater coupled with Mozart's Coronation Mass. The interpreters are four very good soloists (only the two ladies in Pergolesi); a regular orchestra (with some troubles, like violins out of tune); and an irregular choir, alternating bad and good moments (e.g.: bad in Kyrie, good in Gloria). Also, there's a notorious predominance of female voices.
Well, you can find reasons to buy this one: first of all, the music - although these two works deserves better interpretations, here we can listen some pleasant moments. Isn't a first class perfomance (like in Messiah's DVD with Cleobury, or The Creation's DVD with Schreier), but an accetable one. Other reasons are a good work from a young conductor, the quality of soloists, good sound and images (a beautiful church in Paris), and the director's work.
So, if we don't have a definitive version of this couple, let's enjoy this one (two curiousities: mistakes at subtitles informing the dates of the death of both composers, and there is interventions of woman's choir at some parts of Stabat).

The soloists have beautiful voices, the whole program is played with appropriate dynamics and enthusiasm. The sound is excellent and the filming is also good, giving viewers a sense of "being there".

I think I might have got a defect product. In addition of the poor picture and sound quality as mentioned by the earlier reviewer, my DVD also shows "blocks" during some scenes and sometimes the sound got distorted and even paused. Very annoying. Though Caballe is out of her prime anyway. By the way, this series's sound all seem to be bad. I also have the Jose Cura version, which I think the sound is even worse.

In spite of a few negative points, it's a nice and moving compilation of popular spiritual and classical pieces which is a useful addition to my classical DVD collection. Unfortunately the pleasure is marred slightly by the picture quality being barely VHS standard let alone DVD. Because the Dolby Surround is not very effective, I switched my Yamaha 595A to "Movie Theatre" which greatly improved the surround effect. I then realised that there was an obtrusive and annoying mains hum due to microphone pickup that was noticeable between items coming mainly from the rear speakers. Eventually I found that the Movie Theatre setting was actually accentuating the noise. Changing to the Mono Movie setting proved to be the best, although the noise was still there. The cover shows that there should be 13 tracks when actually there are 14! If you like this type of music, then it's worth having in spite of these negative points. If it wasn't for the mains hum, I would have given a higher rating.