4 (2007)

Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and four outstanding violinists are the threads the filmmakers use to weave this exploration of how nature shapes who we are. As Spring reaches Toyko and the ... See full summary »

Director:

Tim Slade

Writers:

Joanna Buggy, Tim Slade

Stars:

Sayaka Shoji, Niki Vasilakis, Cho-Liang Lin

2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Sayaka Shoji	...	Herself - Spring
Niki Vasilakis	...	Herself - Summer
Cho-Liang Lin	...	Himself - Autumn
Pekka Kuusisto	...	Himself - Winter
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kerry Martin	...	Herself - Violinist: Summer

Storyline

Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and four outstanding violinists are the threads the filmmakers use to weave this exploration of how nature shapes who we are. As Spring reaches Toyko and the cherry blossoms burst to life, violinist Sayaka Shoji demonstrates to her young students the timeless lessons in the music, and in their own culture. Niki Vasilakis and friends travel from all corners of Australia to the Far North to share the music of Summer with the Thursday Island Community, as the monsoon clouds gather. As the leaves turn, Cho-Liang (Jimmy) Lin and his neighbours reveal to us their New York City's vibrant, complex personality. Finally, in the icy reaches of Finnish Lapland, Pekka Kuusisto and his colleagues bring the warmth of music and human interaction to the small local community. A documentary full of fascinating characters, fine music and glorious images as it reflects on the global experience of the seasons.

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Plot Keywords:

environment | one word title | violin | number in title

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Taglines:

Four seasons. Four continents. Four groups of musicians. One timeless piece of music.

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Details

Country:

Australia USA Japan Finland

Language:

English Japanese Finnish

Release Date:

3 May 2007 (Japan)

Filming Locations:

Finland

Box Office

Budget:

AUD 750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

NHK, Vast Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min 88 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (HDCAM)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"The Four Seasons"
Music by Antonio Vivaldi

User Reviews

4: they are jolly good musicians

Superlatives like 'breathtaking' or 'sublime' or even plain old 'wow' are the order of the month now that '4' is getting an August cinema release in Australia. This documentary feature is a 4 part journey of 4 seasons... Vivaldi's 4 Seasons to be musically exact... played by 4 different musicians; Spring is in Tokyo, Autumn is in Australia's Northern Territory, Spring is in New York (I like New York in Spring... how about you?) and finally in a 22 minute climax in Finland of unimaginable breathtaking and sublime visuals... a wow performance by a 20-something male violinist delivers Vivaldi's Winter suite completing the 4 seasons in a trip across the most incredible vistas on the planet. 4 is a music documentary masterpiece, a film deserving of an Academy award for feature or photography alone, a film designed to lift the spirit of the viewer through music and the achievement of young musicians... a cultural exchange with a music score so familiar it seems presented as though I had never heard it before. I do not know what happened to my head while I watched 4 but I need to see it 44 times just to cope with what I was seeing and hearing. This music film is a dream of the most desirable type. I found out later the photography was by Pieter DeVries who is an imax cinematographer. And the Oscar goes to....