The Concert: Le Concert (2010)

I'm not really sure how to classify this film. Watched because of its musical focus, but it is more of a comedy than anything. Nominated for a foreign language golden globe, the film was not really on anyone's radar for the Oscars. I'm really not sure who the panel came across this one, but it is a good example of the difference between the two awards for this genre. The Oscars focus on dramas because they strike a larger audience, while the Globes are willing to throw a comedy into the mix. I'm not sure why, because they never seem to win, and foreign comedies just don't come across as funny when you are reading subtitles.

The film starts in Russia, where Andrey Filipov is a janitor at the Bolshoi Orchestra House. Once a famous conductor, but fired for hiring Jews he has spent the last 30 years dreaming of conducting again. When a fax is sent from France asking the Orchestra to come play, he intercepts it and gets his friends together pretending to be the famous Orchestra. The plot is really fun for the first 30 minutes, but it switches from comedy, to drama, back to comedy, and I really can't keep up with what is supposed to be funny and what is supposed to be serious. There are definitely serious moments when it comes to interaction with Anne-Marie, daughter of a famous singer that Filipov used to know.

If I knew French or Russian that might have helped, which is exactly why this film isn't even considered for an Oscar. Just ok [at best] for me.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1320082/

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