Same Old Song& Those Who Can't Do Make Films About Teaching
Boise Weekly › August 04, 2009
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Summary
When did we first encounter a feel-good film that united delinquent kids, a devoted (if professionally frustrated) teacher, and the transformative power of music? Was it Julie Andrews? Could it have been the spirited, softhearted Maria and her Austrian brood, trilling their way up the hills above the abbey? If it wasn't first, The Sound of Music certainly cinched the knot, wrapping up the musical-uplift genre with a definitive sprig of edelweiss. So for all its commercial and artistic success (it's a lovely movie-won't hear a word to the contrary), why didn't it succeed in finishing off this plot? Why are there still pretenders, lo these many years later? Weren't the twin schmaltz fests of Mr. Holland's Opus and Music of the Heart enough?
As [Mathieu], Gérard Jugnot does a fine job. Stern but tender, firm but open, he plays a good man in a bad movie, never stooping to indicate that he'd have been far better served by a far better script. The other actors hold their own, but it's for naught-the film's banality does them in. It's a shame, but there's nothing here to recommend. Did nobody involved in this project notice that it was retreading a very deep groove?See the full content of this document
Extract
Same Old Song& Those Who Can't Do Make Films About Teaching
When did we first encounter a feel-good film that united delinquent kids, a devoted (if professionally frustrated) teacher, and the transformative power of music? Was it Julie Andrews? Could it have been the spirited, softhearted Maria and h...
See the full content of this document
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