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The Silence Before Bach

Storyline

The long-awaited new film from former Bunuel producer and visionary director Pere Portabella, one of the world’s most distinctive and original film voices, “The Silence Before Bach” is a true wonder. “Bach’s music is the only thing that reminds us the world is not a failure,” says a character in the film. Portabella, taking Bach’s music as a theme and a starting place, but taking it on the road, both literally (two Spanish truckdrivers discuss its fine points; a group of several dozen young cellists play rapturous Bach on a subway car they appear to have taken over) and otherwise (as Portabella recreates the composer’s lifeā€”sort of; the film opens with a player piano moving of seemingly its own accord through a bare art gallery, really dancing a pas de deux with Portabella’s camera.) The music is as glorious as the cinematic art; the film’s meanings open and perhaps even profound.

 

 

From the Pere Portabella film, “The Silence Before Bach”

From the Pere Portabella film, “The Silence Before Bach”

From the Pere Portabella film, "The Silence Before Bach"

From the Pere Portabella film, “The Silence Before Bach”

Film director Pere Portabella