Not Your Typical Samuel L. Jackson movie.

Rating: Null/10 (13 June 2005)

The Red Violin, or Le Violon Rouge, was not the typical movie you would expect from Samuel L. Jackson. It centers around, you guessed it, a red violin. A perfect, red violin which was the last made by legendary violin maker, Nicolo Bussotti (Carlo Cecchi).
This movie seems to take place in a somewhat parallel way in the past, with Nicolo's pregnant wife, Anna (Irene Grazioli), and in the present, during an auction for the illustrious violin. Anna is having her cards read by a tarot card reader in between each scene involving the new whereabouts of the violin.
It circulates between a child prodigy in Vienna, a music lover in communist China where the violin is an illegal western instrument, a great concerto player who uses the music to seduce women and finally, to Montreal, where the auction is taking place.
In between each scene, you learn a little bit more about the violin and it's origin and the fate of the Bussotti family, including why it is red. Also, with each story, you see why certain people participating in the auction are interested in said violin.
Charles Morritz (Samuel L. Jackson) does not even really appear, other than a few quick flashes, until the very end. It is then when we understand what Morritz is doing there and the ultimate fate of the violin, at least for the time being.
This was a good movie although a bit overrated in my opinion, it was still worth a watch. You have to be in the mood for this type of movie, as it is filled with sub-titles and is, ultimately, a foreign movie. Although I like foreign movies, there are times when I am just not in the mood. With that said, The Red Violin was a pretty good movie and if you know what you are getting into, it can be an enjoyable experience. 7/10