I just posted this on my Facebook page, but want to share it with my HBL friends as well.
We just saw the new Pavarotti movie and think you should see it as soon as possible, because if you feel about it as we did, you will want to see it again. I was surprised and saddened that there were so few people in the audience—perhaps half a dozen in a large theater—and therefore I think the movie won’t be around long.
Aside from the music what I liked most was the way the music was integrated into the story. It isn’t just a showcase of him singing; the story—his story—is almost told by music. It is his personal story…the story of a man who is, more than anything, an artist. This was his primary value, and what you learn is how that came to be.
Ron Howard did an amazing job; he must have spent so much time going through films, interviews, editing, framing…it flows so effortlessly, and that tells you how much effort there really was.
But most of all, what is so wonderful is that while it is a very personal story, a wonderfully human biography—it never descends into gossip. There is a wonderful dignity about the interviewees, even people who may have been hurt during the course of their friendship with Pavarotti. There are things I want to know about people whom I admire…and things I don’t care or need to know. And Howard seems to know the difference.
It doesn’t seem hagiographic…it simply seems dignified.
/sb
