Music of the Heart (1999)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Wes Craven

Writer (WGA):

Pamela Gray (written by)

Release Date:

29 October 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

She gave them a gift they could never imagine. They gave the system a fight it would never forget.

Plot:

Story of a schoolteacher's struggle to teach violin to inner-city Harlem kids.

Plot Keywords:

Violin | School | Music Rehearsal | Public School | Dog

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Meryl Streep	...	Roberta Guaspari
Cloris Leachman	...	Assunta Guaspari
Henry Dinhofer	...	Lexi at 5
Michael Angarano	...	Nick at 7
Robert Ari	...	Supervisor
Aidan Quinn	...	Brian Turner
Teddy Coluca	...	Taxi Driver
Angela Bassett	...	Principal Janet Williams
Josh Pais	...	Dennis Rausch
Barbara Gonzalez	...	Janet's Secretary
Jade Yorker	...	DeSean at 11
Victoria Gómez	...	Lucy at 10 (as Victoria Gomez)
Justin Pierre Edmund	...	Bongo Kid
Justin 'DJ' Spaulding	...	Naeem Adisa at 9 (as Justin Spaulding)
Zoe Sternbach-Taubman	...	Guadalupe at 9

Also Known As:

50 Violins (USA) (working title)
Fiddlefest (USA) (working title)
Music of My Heart (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief mild language and sensuality.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Taiwan:GP | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:I | Netherlands:AL | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Craven-Maddalena Films

Trivia:

The role of Roberta was originally given to Madonna.

Goofs:

Continuity: In one of the classroom scenes early in the movie, Streep is shown wearing boots; when the camera comes back to her later in the same scene, she's wearing shoes instead.

Quotes:

Isabel Vasquez: [approaching Roberta who is sitting on a bench by herself at lunch after being shunned by other teachers] What's the matter? You got cooties or somethin'?
Roberta Guaspari: Oh, apparently.
Isabel Vasquez: Well, I'll take my chances. Isabel Vasquez, second grade.
Roberta Guaspari: Roberta Guaspari, I'm ...
Isabel Vasquez: The violin teacher. I know.
Roberta Guaspari: So is it my imagination, or does *everybody* here hate me?
Isabel Vasquez: Look, it's hard to fit in when you're doing a special program. People figure you're not gonna be here very long, so they don't make the effort. It may take a while for folks to warm up to you, but they don't hate you.
Roberta Guaspari: What about Alice?
Isabel Vasquez: A - She thinks the violin is a waste of time. B - She's a bitch!
Roberta Guaspari: [laughs] So, why are you being so nice to me?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Directors: The Films of Wes Craven (#1.4)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Descargarana

A truly amazing movie that is actually Wes Craven's best film.

Can you picture this odd couple: Meryl Streep stars in a Wes Craven movie? Seems like a joke at first, but it really isn't. "Music of the Heart" is the second film that horror director Wes Craven has made and surpasses his first non-horror film, "Vampire in Brooklyn".

It based on the life of Roberta Guaspari (Streep), a violin teacher who moves to East Harlem with her two sons after her husband left her for another woman. Roberta starts a program of her own, teaching young kids how to play the violin. One mother of one of her students describes it as "dead white man music", but Roberta uses the late Arthur Ashe, who was black and a great tennis player as a great example. In another scene, the mother tells Roberta that she was right.

Ten years later, Roberta has taught over a thousand children how to play the violin and some of her former students have either gone onto college or become violinists. A problem surfaces, the superintendent and board of education have made budget cuts. Roberta is told by Janet Williams (Angela Bassett), the princpal that the music program has been cut.

So Roberta vows to keep the program alive and gets the idea of having a benefit concert. She gets help from some of her friends and some parents to help promote the concert and the place where it'll be held. Bad news, the first place where the concert is going to be held in has a flood. The only other place that is mentioned is Carnegie Hall in Philadelphia.

The concert scene is one of the best scenes in the movie. Some of Roberta's first students come back to join some of current her pupils. Also, some of the best-known violinists in the world have come as well, Issac Stern, Mark O'Connor, Arnold Steinhardt, and Itzhak Perlman are among them. Watching O'Connor play was fun to see. I admit that is the concert is memorable and great to watch as the one put up in "The Blues Brothers".

The emotional energy in this film never lets down at one moment. Bassett, Quinn, and Jay O. Sanders are good in their supporting roles. The movie is great and it stays with the story. Wes Craven deserved an Oscar nomination for Best Director and Streep is great.