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The Silence Before Bach

Play trailer Poster for The Silence Before Bach 2008 1h 42m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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Reviews 66% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Many genres of film illustrate the transformational power of music .

Critics Reviews

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Ty Burr Boston Globe The Silence Before Bach is a movie in which to take refuge, and it abjures the summer heat of pop culture for a cool and lasting immersion in the miracles that people are and can create. Rated: 4/4 Aug 20, 2009 Full Review Ted Fry Seattle Times The engaging enigma of The Silence Before Bach demonstrates an artistic wisdom that is as satisfying as it is challenging. Rated: 3/4 Aug 1, 2008 Full Review Jan Stuart Newsday The demolition of the music bio-pic as witnessed by Todd Haynes' I'm Not There and the parody Walk Hard continues robustly with this time-tripping melange from Spanish director Pere Portabella. Rated: 3/4 Jan 31, 2008 Full Review Toni Vall Cinemanía (Spain) "Bach is the only thing that reminds us that the world is not a failure." A character from [The Silence Before Bach] says it ... and we intuit their quintessences after. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 3.5/5 Jul 18, 2019 Full Review Daniel Kasman MUBI Portabella never loses his sense of humor even amidst the grandeur of the music, and the seriousness of the ideas. Nov 17, 2017 Full Review Bill White Seattle Post-Intelligencer A dog watches its blind master tune a piano. It's only 10 minutes into The Silence Before Bach and already I am bored as that dog. Rated: D Aug 1, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member This is a movie you must see. There will be things you will immediately understand and things that you won't. But it is unforgettable. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie's general statement consists in trying to 'spruce up' Bach by creating some sort of "bold" audio-visual statement with his music, in some sort of hyper-aware, almost ironical manner. The film's main message is mainly to state that Bach's music is not good enough anymore to be enjoyed 'plain'; it has to be "shifted" towards some sort of cinematic performance art in which the music is never enough: it has to be accompanied by a dancing clavichord, with said clavichord being dumped in the ocean later on; music students playing the Prelude to the first Cello suite in a moving subway train in unison (see how clever the director is?); a dude in a bad powdered wig pretending to be Bach while doing out-of-synch mimicry to the music and all kinds of stupid nonsense and other 'artistic' gimmicks. The point is that the music this film tries so hard to "spice up" is in reality a trillion times better, deeper, more nuanced and more beautiful that whatever hipster statement the filmakers where trying to convey here. Bach's music is a colorful, infinita, intricate tapestry that doesn't need 'help' or homages. It needs to be listened to, without distractions, in a manner in which every synapse is focused on the music. This film, on the other hand, is basically like trying to wipe your ass with a Rembrandt to make yourself look interesting. Bach's music will live on forever, while no one will remember this piece of shit in two years. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Click : http://www.famalegoods.com jordan shoes $32 nike shox $32 Christan Audigier bikini $23 Ed Hardy Bikini $23 Smful short_t-shirt_woman $15 ed hardy short_tank_woman$16 Sandal$32 christian loubo utin $80 Sunglass $15 COACH_Necklace $27 handbag $33AF tank woman $17 puma slipper woman $30 http://www.famalegoods.com Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Some sequences are more compelling than others, but overall, this is an engaging film. Recommend highly. Good luck finding it in any medium other than 35mm. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member From the 32 SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD school of music biopics comprising semi-avant garde vignettes, Portabella's film reminds us that Bach's music lives everywhere, including showers occupied by naked women. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Three stars for the music. I didn't really go for what The New Yorker called a "blend of documentary, drama, and quasi-surrealist whimsy" -- for me the various bits didn't gel into any powerfully cohesive whole. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Silence Before Bach

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Movie Info

Synopsis Many genres of film illustrate the transformational power of music .
Director
Pere Portabella
Screenwriter
Pere Portabella, Carles Santos, Xavier Alberti
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
Spanish
Runtime
1h 42m