The Red Violin (1998)
"Le violon rouge" (original title)

A perfect red-colored violin inspires passion, making its way through three centuries over several owners and countries, eventually ending up at an auction where it may find a new owner.

Director:

François Girard

Writers:

Don McKellar, François Girard

Stars:

Carlo Cecchi, Jean-Luc Bideau, Christoph Koncz

Won 1 Oscar. Another 19 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Carlo Cecchi	...	Nicolo Bussotti (Cremona)
Irene Grazioli	...	Anna Bussotti (Cremona)
Anita Laurenzi	...	Cesca (Cremona)
Tommaso Puntelli	...	Apprentice (Cremona)
Samuele Amighetti	...	Boy (Cremona)
Jean-Luc Bideau	...	Georges Poussin (Vienna)
Aldo Brugnini	...	Assistant (Cremona)
Christoph Koncz	...	Kaspar Weiss (Vienna)
Clotilde Mollet	...	Antoinette Pussin (Vienna)
Florentín Groll	...	Anton von Spielmann (Vienna)
Johannes Silberschneider	...	Father Richter (Vienna)
Rainer Egger	...	Brother Christophe (Vienna)
Paul Koeker	...	Brother Gustav (Vienna)
Wolfgang Böck	...	Brother Michael (Vienna)
Josef Mairginter	...	Brother Franz (Vienna)

Storyline

In present day Montreal, a famous Nicolo Bussotti violin, known as "the red violin," is being auctioned off. During the auction, we flash back to the creation of the violin in 17th century Italy, and follow the violin as it makes its way through an 18th century Austrian monastery, a violinist in 19th century Oxford, China during the Cultural Revolution, and back to Montreal, where a collector tries to establish the identity and the secrets of "the red violin."

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Plot Keywords:

violin | auction | monastery | passion | violinist | 

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Taglines:

An instrument of passion. A shocking secret. An extraordinary journey.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Mystery | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexuality

Details

Country:

Canada Italy USA UK Austria

Language:

French English Mandarin Italian German

Release Date:

11 June 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Red Violin

Filming Locations:

Chicheley Hall, Chicheley, Newport Pagnell, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$129,564 (USA) (13 November 1998)

Gross:

$9,473,382 (USA) (12 November 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rhombus Media, Mikado Film, New Line International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Vienna section of the movie concerns itself with a boy named Kaspar who is described as an orphan and a wild child. This is probably a reference to Werner Herzog's film The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, which also concerns itself with a wild child named Kaspar, and which is also in German.

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Goofs

Most of the violin playing is off. There are few examples of anyone actually playing the notes you hear. In some scenes the fingers are moving while notes are not changing, but more often it's that the fingers are NOT moving while the notes are changing, and changing quite rapidly. Christoph Koncz (Kaspar Weiss) is one of the only actors who actually played the violin in the movie.

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Quotes

Charles Morritz: What do you do when the thing you most wanted, so perfect, just comes?

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Connections

Featured in Weird Sex and Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche (2004)

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Soundtracks

"O Richard! O mon Roi!"
from "Richard Coeur de Lion"
Composed by André-Modeste Grétry

User Reviews

A wonderful journey

I was captivated from the moment the film started. The music flowed effortlessly and the scene was set immediately.

Some people may be put off by the use of foreign language and subtitles early on in the film but I found this served to enhance the story and grab my attention even more. It reminds you of the true beauty of language and music and no matter what your taste you cannot help but to be drawn into the story.

The story follows the journey of the Red Violin from its creation and you really feel that something special is happening from the way the red violin is revered. The different people who come into contact with the instrument all have there own stories and you find yourself trying to guess how the Violin will affect them. Sometimes you are right and sometimes not.

Francois Girard has produced a wonderful film and the original score enhances this. This film is one that I will watch again and again and one that should be highly recommended.