Tutte Le Mattine Del Mondo [Blu-ray]

The 90's undoubtedly represented a sort of Golden period in the French cinema. And Alain Coirneau's "Tous les matins du monde" is certainly no exception, for this movie rises well beyond the standards and blissfully embraces the elusive terrains of glorious and mystical rapture. Seven Cesar Awards confirming it. France. XVII century. The Golden Siécle of French music. Monsieur de Saint Colombe is a viola virtuoso, renowned in for his unique style, and also for his reluctancy to sacrifice the uniqueness of his art by becoming a King's entertainer. Falling into a deep depression after the passing of his beloved wife, who leaves him with two young daughters, Saint Colombe progressively secludes himself in his country house, barely seen even by his own daughters, almost solely allowing the company of his cherished viol. He then composes many of his most celebrated pieces. A desperate way of soothing his ailing spirit after the loss of his love: by creating magic on strings. A certain day, a young and promising musician by the name of Marin Marais will present himself to the Saint Colombe estate begging to the Master to take him as an apprentice. After an endless series of rejections, a reluctant Saint Colombe finally agrees and Marais will enter the Masters' cryptic and marvelous world of almost unbearable torment turned into glorious music. Day by day, Marais will learn techniques and achieve perfection in the art of the viol. In the process he will fall in love with Madeline, the eldest of Saint Colombe's children, as he slowly absorbs (take?) from the Master everything he can. Years will pass and Marais will not elude the enchanting call of the Courts, abandoning Saint Colombe, leaving a broken-hearted Madeline behind -she will eventually become fatally ill- and becoming himself a prominent musical figure in the King's chamber, a position carved for almost every musician in XVII century France. Marais ultimately became what we know of him today, a skillfull musician and fertile composer widely acclaimed in all Europe for his unduoubted virtuosity. But he also became a personal King's entertainer, a musician whose art had to be supervised and approved by the power in exercise, the very one thing the Master warned him of becoming, with all the gold and oropel attached. After many years of glory, a tired and somewhat empty Marais will still return to the Master's estate, long after his passing as well as Madeline's death, and with sad eyes will look time and time again, to the life and love he left behind. A life full of the simplicity and happiness purely given by the pleasure of making glorious music for the sole joy of the spirit.As I write this I can almost hear in my mind all the sublime pieces that can be enjoyed in memorable scenes of the movie, such as "Le Pleurs" by Saint Colombe, or "Improvisation sur las Folies d'Espagne" by Marais himself. I would dare to say that music in this picture, performed by a superb ensamble under the musical direction of baroque music scholar, performer and composer Jordi Savall (Concert des Nations) is, simply put, "the" main character in this movie. The movie soundtrack includes spectacular XVII century pieces, some of them unknown, but also authored pieces by J.B. Lully ("Marche pour la ceremonie des Turcs", Couperin ("Troisiéme Lecon de Tenebres"), Saint Colombe ("Gavotte du tendre", "Concert a deux violes") and Marais ("Improvisations sur las Folies d'Espagne", "La Reveuse", "L'Arabesque", "Le Badinage", "Toumbeau pour Mr de Saint Colombe", "Muzettes" and the stunning and one of my favorites "Sonnerie de Ste Genevieve du Mont-de-Paris").As for the cast, Jean Pierre Marielle plays the tormented Monsieur de Saint Colombe. Young Marin Marais is played by Guillaume Depardieu, a surprisingly gifted and young actor, with a last name far from unknown. His father, the genious Gérard Depardieu impersonates old Marin Marais, while Anne Brochet (Cyrano de Bergerac's "Roxanne") beautifully plays Madeline de Saint Colombe. This particular 2-DVD edition not only renders an extraordinary sound and picture quality but is also filled with documentaries and featurettes about the making of the movie, and also specifically about Jordi Savall's contribution to the knowledge and appreciation of the endless richness of the baroque music, and particularly for the viola da gamba and its unparalelled sound."Tous les matins du monde" (and its soundtrack as well) will deeply move anyone who has the ability to listen, far beyond words.

Great cinematography and acting, even if the historicity is highly questionable at various points. The atmosphere of the 17th century certainly seems to have been captured, as well as the obsessive perfectionism that some artists experience. Add to that the struggle between vocation and working for money or advancement to which most adults can relate, whether in or out of the arts. Although listed as NR (not rated), this would definitely garner an "R" rating due to a a few scenes with nudity and some sexual situations. On the other hand, almost all kids would find this film insufferably boring before arriving at those scenes.

The central theme of this movie is what is music for? To master Sainte Colombo, it is for expression and exploration of the soul, where words cannot go there, music as a meditation and communing with the sorrows and passion. To the young Marin Marias it is a means to fame, fortune, success, a job in the king's court.The two viewpoints are interconnected when the young Marin Marias enters the lives of Sainte Colombe and his two daughters. The family had been in perpetual mourning for the death of Mrs. Sainte Colombe, with the father retiring into a garden hut to commune with his music and ghostly visitations from his dead wife. The daughters were left to fend for themselves, and the appearance of a young man sparks their interest. After initially refusing to take him in as a student, he relents to his daughters. One thing leads to another, and after using both the hospitality of Sainte Colombe, and leaving his elderly daughter broken and ruined, Marin Marais gets what he wants which is a position as musician in the king's court.But all of the fame, fortune and glamour cannot satisfy him, so he returns to search out his old teacher, to find the great secret meaning of music. The master asks him what music means, and Marin guesses again and again without finding the answer. Finally he gives up and has a final lesson (first lesson from Master Sainte Colombe's point of view). And he has learned that music goes beyond words, and into a realm beyond touching death and man's temporary existence.The second disc contains a wonderful documentary of Jordi Savall, the viol soloist who plays for the soundtrack of the film. It is 45 minutes, including interviews, performances, and explanations of how the viol da gamba captures the heartstrings of musically sensitive people. The two disc collection is well worth the price, as learning about music and the search for perfect sound to express that which cannot be done with words is a priceless educational process.

I did not love this film when I first saw it but now I really think that there is something exquisite about it. I adore the music of Marin Marais and Monsieur de Sainte Colombe. Jean Pierre Marielle is so touching as Sainte Colombe and Anne Brochet is wonderful as his daughter. But the scene that is just pure acting is when Marin Marais played by Gerard Depardieu in all his court finery visits M. de Sainte Colombe and they play together. Finer performances on film it is hard to imagine.

The French are very good at these off-beat films and this one is exceptional. The music is to die for and is played quite wonderfully by Jordi Savall. My only complaint is that the 47 minute doco on him is not brought over from the DVD to the Blue-ray. The transfer to Blu is noticeably sharper than the DVD but no further remastering has taken place. This is a most beautiful film and anyone who loves early music should have it. Unfortunately this US disc is A locked and in Europe or Australia you need a multi region player such as the Oppo to view it.

I missed that there was no English sub titles, it was not clear when ordering. Now I'm afraid it's unwatchable as I don't speak French.

Goods arrived promptly as advertised.

great film, sent quickly, good price, great seller 5* thank you!