Maestro(s) (2022) User Reviews

Makes me very curious about the original

[viridiana2020 · 6/10 · 28 August 2022]

I saw this at the Film Festival of Angoulême. Although I have not seen the original - I had heard good things about it - I decided to give this a chance. The starting point is very original and promising. Father and son, both acclaimed orchestra conductors, have always had a bad relationship and when the father is invited to conduct the Scala in Milan, he becomes insufferable. Except that a mistake was made by an assistant and it was not the father who has been given this prestigious task but the son. There is no way the son can look his father in the eye and tell him this. So he lets him believe for a while that he is still going to Milan. This will lead to a painful confrontation when the father finds out.

Unfortunately, the film doesn't manage to fully explore the relationship between father and son. The film is too short; a good half an hour extra would have done the story good. Now it feels rushed.

Pierre Arditi is formidable as the father, but Yvan Attal is not of the same caliber. He has a lot of close ups while his facial expression is very limited.

All in all, while I can criticize some choices in directing and also cinematography, the film is not bad and worth while giving it a chance.

Musically incoherent, acted quite well

[gaddieldombrowner · 5/10 · 27 January 2023]

I'll already say I'm personally a conductor myself and it's always interesting to see musical movies.

Apart from the fact the film is quite well acted, Arditi as always is a great actor, and the rest do a pretty good job, the story is of course an eternal question of father and son relation, especially in the same domain, but also do we see our "success" in our career as our prime source for our happiness.

As a conductor it was painful to watch. Nothing made much sense, the two main actors were conducting extremely badly, I hope this is not the standards of La Scala. Lol Their movements were quite painful to watch.

Orchestras badly seated, the talking during the rehearsal is bad, little details like the podium on the last concert is not a real one, when someone says "In bocca al lupo" you're not suppose to repeat it but to say "crepi"... It's extremely bad luck otherwise. Every conductor knows that. The agent hitting the high notes of the piano in the green room but for some reasons she hits the lowest notes on it....

Anyway, more research about this and a bit more effort would be nice. It's not THAT hard to make someone look like a real conductor and things to look real.

But all in all as a movie, it was quite ok. 5 stars.

Father and son walking together, would there be any jealousy?

[noshouse · 7/10 · 16 August 2023]

Catering to someone's interests is the most direct way for a son to catch his father's attention. If there's a mutual understanding and discernment about the same matters, then collaboration becomes the best blessing for both on the paths they're taking. Whenever it's a movie about music, it always gets me immersed in the rhythm of the notes. Especially in this film where it's mostly symphony music, it highlights how conducting is like being a chef. With the same ingredients, the way you present them shows your personal style. Just like father and son conductors, they must have their own distinct styles. So, "Maestro," this movie, maybe it's giving me a sense of appreciating each other within the same field.

As bad as french movies go

[jafi75 · 2/10 · 5 February 2023]

I appreciate Pierre Arditi's personnality and acting. So I went to see this movie. It was a mistake.

It was as bad as nowaday's french movies go. Minimally interesting story. Lame acting, actors don't even seem interested in what they play. Nothing remarkable in the dialogs or the plot. Nothing surprising or new in the filming department.

I can't tell if the acting was convincing for a conductor. But that's not in the least meaningful for the public at large.

Typical french movie, as bad and unremarkable as french movies have become for decades. Not worth the price of the ticket or the subsidies they get from our taxes.