Music of the Heart

Music of the Heart is a 1999 American biographical musical drama film directed by Wes Craven and written by Pamela Gray, based on the 1995 documentary Small Wonders. The film is a dramatization of the true story of Roberta Guaspari, portrayed by Meryl Streep, who co-founded the Opus 118 Harlem School of Music and fought for music education funding in New York City public schools. The film also stars Aidan Quinn, Angela Bassett, Gloria Estefan in her film debut, Jane Leeves, Kieran Culkin and Jay O. Sanders. It was director Craven's first and only mainstream cinematic film not in the horror or thriller genre, and also his only film to receive Oscar nominations.
==Plot==
In 1981 New York City, Roberta Guaspari, a recently divorced violinist, lives with her two sons, Alexi and Nicholas Tzavaras, and her mother, Assunta Guaspari. With Assunta's encouragement, Guaspari attempts to rebuild her life and is recommended to the head teacher of East Harlem's Central Park East School. Despite having little experience in actual music teaching, she accepts a substitute violin teaching position at Central Park East. With a combination of her toughness and determination, she inspires a group of children, and their initially skeptical parents. The program slowly develops and attracts publicity, eventually expanding to Central Park East II and River East Schools.
Ten years later, the Central Park East, Central Park East II and River East School string programs work with the New York City Board of Education to help eliminate funding for the programs, which leads to Guaspari's early dismissal. Determined to fight the budget cuts, she enlists the support of former pupils, parents and teachers and plans a benefit concert, Fiddlefest, to raise money so that the program can continue. But with a few weeks to go and all participants furiously rehearsing, they lose the venue. However, Arnold Steinhardt, the husband of a publicist friend, is a violinist in the Guarneri Quartet, and he enlists the support of other well-known musicians, including Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman. They arrange for the concert to be mounted at Carnegie Hall.
On the day of Fiddlefest, Guaspari and her students perform with Perlman, Steinhardt, Stern, Mark O'Connor, Michael Tree, Charles Veal Jr., Karen Briggs, Sandra Park, Diane Monroe, and Joshua Bell, increasing donations and making the event a massive success.
In the epilogue, descriptions show Guaspari and the Opus 118 program's activities after the events in 1991.
==Cast==
* Meryl Streep as Roberta Guaspari
* Aidan Quinn as Brian Turner, Roberta's love interest
* Angela Bassett as Janet Williams, school principal
* Gloria Estefan as Isabel Vasquez, a teacher
* Cloris Leachman as Assunta Vitali Guaspari, Roberta's mother
* Josh Pais as Dennis Rausch, a teacher
* Jane Leeves as Dorothea von Haeften, a wealthy socialite
* Kieran Culkin as Alexi Tzavaras, Roberta's son
** Harry Dinhofer as Young Alexi Tzavaras
* Charlie Hofheimer as Nicholas Tzavaras, Roberta's son
** Michael Angarano as Young Nick Tzavaras
* Jay O. Sanders as Dan Paxton, Roberta's other love interest
* Jean-Luke Figueroa as Ramon Olivas, a student
* Omari Toomer as DeSean, a student
** Jade Yorker as Young DeSean
* Cristina Gómez as Lucy, a student
** Victoria Gómez as Young Lucy
* Olga Merediz as Concepcion Olivas, Ramon's mother
* Hazel Medina as Alice Crowley
* Adam LeFevre as Mr. Klein
* Betsy Aidem as Mrs. Lamb
* Myra Lucretia Taylor as Beverly Wilson
* Socorro Santiago as Lucy's Mother
Itzhak Perlman, Arnold Steinhardt, Isaac Stern, Mark O'Connor, Michael Tree, Charles Veal Jr., Karen Briggs, Sandra Park, Diane Monroe, and Joshua Bell all cameo as themselves in the film's recreation of the Carnegie Hall benefit concert (at which all were actually present).
==Theatrical Trailer==
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Category:1999 films
Category:Miramax films
Category:Films with a single song
Category:Rated PG
Category:1:85:1 Aspect Ratio Films