The Silence Before Bach

If Luis Bunuel cared about music, he would have made this movie. Writer/Producer/Director Pere Portabella was the producer of Bunuel's "Viridiana," so it's OK to draw a line between their approaches to film.

The "Silence Before Bach" is a series of vignettes, somewhat like the "Phantom of Liberty" or "Russian Ark," devoted to the life-enhancing qualities of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Some sequences are modern-day, some are in period costume. Some are flatly reportorial, some flirt with Vermeer-like poetry. Things never get too heavy, and sometimes they rise to a crackling Catalan wit.

I'm indebted to the film for introducing me to the writings of the mad Romanian writer Emil Cioran, who noted tortuously that "Bach's music is the only argument proving that the creation of the Universe can't be regarded as a complete failure."

At the time of this writing, links to external reviews appear to be skimpy. However, there are reviews of this film in the NY Times, Post and Sun, New York Magazine and the New Yorker, the Village Voice, the New Republic and Film Comment. Hopefully the IMDb will get around to roping some of them in eventually.

Unfortunately, Pere Portabella will not allow his films to be released on video or DVD, so if this one pops up in a theater near you, don't miss it.