Segmented Symphony

Rating: 4/10 (3 May 2009)

The history of a famous violin, as it changes hands over centuries, provides the framework for this episodic film. The cinematography, particularly in the period episodes, is exquisite, and the score is nice. However, the segmented structure makes it difficult to become involved with the story and the characters. The dialog in the Oxford segment is laughably bad. The Chinese segment belongs in another movie. The Montreal segment, which the story centers around, is repetitious and uninteresting. Other than the violin, there is nothing compelling holding the segments of the film together, and it tends to drag due to its excessive length.