The Red Violin chronicles the journey of a very special violin throughout its life as it is passed on from one person to the other, surviving burial, bonfire, and more. The Red Violin, although a masterful piece of storytelling, just failed to keep my attention for the whole movie. Not until the end when Samuel L. Jackson emerges, did the movie actually keep my attention for an extended period of time. I enjoyed watching the violin as it was passed on from benefactor to benefactor, but each of these individual stories seemed to drag on for too long.

I enjoyed the premise of the movie and the way in which it was told was quite original - seeing descendants from one owner to the next bidding for the violin at auction just after hearing the story of the violin during that period of time (may be confusing, but not if you've seen it). I also enjoyed watching as the violin traveled around the country and although many subtitles were used, they were easy to get used to - from German to Italian to Chinese, subtitles were needed for most of the movie.

I enjoyed this movie to a certain extent. It had its high points and its definite low points, and overall I enjoyed the movie. I wouldn't recommend this movie if you're looking for comedy or action, but for an "artsy" film, The Red Violin did just fine.

Genres: Drama, Mystery, Foreign, Music
Rated: R
Runtime: 131 minutes
Talk back in the discussion boards!