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Film: Live And Become
Release date: 19th April 2010
Certificate: 12
Running time: 143 mins
Director: Radu Mihaileanu
Starring: Mosche Abebe, Sirak M Sabahat, Yael Abecassis, Roschdy Zem
Genre: Drama
Studio: Bluebell
Format: DVD
Country: France/Israel
Winner of the Most Popular International Film award at the Vancouver International Film Festival, Radu Mihaileanu’s Live And Become opened to rave reviews in France. A profoundly moving tale of love, the film charters the life of the central character Shlomo (Moshe Agazai, Moshe Abebe, and Sirak M. Sabahat) a young boy who at the beginning of the film lives with his mother in a Sudanese refugee camp.
During the famine of 1984 Shlomo and his mother are desperate to escape. African Jews know as ‘Falasha’ are being transported to Israel under a scheme known as operation Moses. As Christians, they are excluded from salvation.
When one of the Jewish women’s sons dies, Schlomos’ mother persuades the woman to take Schlomo with her. Posing as his mother, she will take him with her to Israel, ensuring his future and survival. By pretending to be another woman’s’ Jewish son, Schlomo will have a better chance at life than he would have had in the camps.
His mother’s last words to Schlomo before he leaves her are; “Go, live and become.” These parting words have a lasting impact on Schlomo, but due to their ambiguous nature, he is unsure how to fulfil his mother’s wishes. As he grows older, he begins to question more and more their obscure meaning of these words - where should he go? And what exactly should he become?
When Schlomo arrives in Israel, he suffers another loss when the Jewish woman who was looking after him unexpectedly falls fatally ill. On her deathbed, she makes Schlomo swear that he must never reveal his Christian parentage for fear of being deported.
Schlomo is subsequently taken in and cared for by a liberal Israeli family, who treat him as one of their own, but as he settles in to this new life, Shlomo feels increasingly guilty about the lie he has to live with, and the mother who he left behind.
Despite the safety and comparative luxury of his new surroundings, Shlomo continues to feel out of place in his new home with his white family. Outside of his home, he experiences a great amount of racial hostility from Israelis, making him more withdrawn and increasingly isolated. All that sustains him is his dream of returning home, finding his mother, and finding out how to live and become…
The film follows the three stages of Schlomo’s life; from a young boy of 9 to his subsequent adolescent years, and his maturity to manhood. Each stage is played beautifully by three different actors who bring consistent portrayals to the character in the different stages of his life. The young Shlomo played by Moshe Agazai gives an especially riveting and natural performance.
Though it is a film that spans great distances from Ethiopia to Israel and France, the film never for a moment distances the audience from the very personal story of a boy in search of his mother, and creates a great balance of an epic background with a unique emotional story at the very centre.
The film deals with such themes as race, religion, identity, love, conflict, and prejudice, yet with clarity and fairness. No character is irredeemable; they are merely flawed or ignorant, which makes them much better-rounded as characters - and much more realistic.
Though the film poses more questions than it answers, this is one of its many strengths, as none of the conflicts the film is set against is easily solvable. Mihaileanu presents each character and viewpoint objectively, never allowing politics or religion to negatively affect their portal.
The film’s general way of tackling subjects presents all the different conflicts that are central to this film (such as Israel’s continued war with Palestine) in a very non-judgmental way - it doesn’t delve very deeply into the root causes of the conflict but rather uses them as a backdrop behind the everyday conflicts that the characters are playing out.
This film works because of its ability to tackle the challenge and adversity of everyday experiences. Although the issues Schlomo overcomes are personally unique to him they nonetheless encompasses very relatable experiences, such as questioning one’s own identity and faith, and, most importantly, the enduring power of love.
Live And Become is enjoyable and heartrending, with characters and subjects portrayed with a great deal of truth and sensitivity. Although the characters and plot are very specific to a certain time and place, this at no point hinders the viewers’ enjoyment. An incredibly bold and moving piece of filmmaking. CMA
Film: The Concert
Release date: 8th November 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 122 mins
Director: Radu Mihaileanu
Starring: Aleksei Guskov, Dimitri Nazarov, Melanie Laurent, François Berleand, Miou-Miou
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: France
Four years after the internationally acclaimed Live And Become, Radu Mihaileanu attempts to hit a lighter note with comedy-drama The Concert, staring French actress Mélanie Laurent. A story of redemption, can Mihaileanu’s colourful cast walk the line between the melancholic and the jocular?
The Concert, above all else, is a story of the underdog. Aleksei Guskov stars as Alexei Filipov, who works as a cleaner at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. But he used to be something much more. His turmoil dates back thirty years, when, as the conductor of the legendary Bolshoi, he refused to omit Jewish musicians from his world-famous orchestra. He never conducted again.
In his disgrace, and, at times, spiralling alcoholism, Alexei and wife Irina dream of a house in the country, working with obsessive devotion to attain these far-fetched desires.
The film picks up on the day Alexei discovers a fax on his boss’ computer inviting the Bolshoi to play a concerto in Paris. Destroying any evidence of the fax, Alexei embarks on an ambitious plan to reunite his orchestra, and conduct the concerto himself.
Joined by charismatic sidekick Sacha (Dimitri Nazarov), Alexei finds many of his former musicians are now deadbeat drunks, but nonetheless endeavours to deliver a one-off ground-breaking performance which will finally allow him to let go of his bitter-sweet past…
The film endeavours, at first, to introduce its audience to some familiar stereotypes within the comedy genre. With some sassy screenplay, and intricate script work that swiftly demonstrates the archetypal character traits, we meet Alexei, the regretful but likeable failed conductor, and Irina – devoted, and passionate, someone Alexei can rely on to push him into the background and conduct his rants for him.
In next to no time Sacha, the yang to Alexei’s ying, presents himself as the discerning best friend who ridicules Alexei’s plans but goes along for the ride. Plump, hearty, never far from losing his temper, Sacha, on more than one occasion, steals the show, largely due to the talents of actor Dimitry Nazarov.
It is also not long before we meet Anne-Marie Jacquet (played earnestly by Mélanie Laurent, who recently shot to fame with her role in Inglourious Basterds), a young prodigy with supreme talents on the violin, who brings a fresh face to the marketing behind the concerto. At the helm of the marketing campaign lies Olivier Morne Duplessis, manager of the Théâtre du Châtelet – typically arrogant and self-assured in order to hide the fact the theatre may be going under.
Despite some promising moments of humour, particularly when the film looks for subtler laughs, The Concert is often over-reliant on more chaotic moments of comedy, a number of which are so unfathomable that it prevents the intended reaction. A shootout at a wedding early on in the film borders on the ridiculous, and is only saved by the conversation between events promoter Ivan and world-class cellist Pyotr Tretiakin, as they agree a deal whilst avoiding gunfire.
In terms of cinematography and construction of mise-en-scène, Mihaileanu, with assistance from cinematographer Laurent Dailland, saves the best until last. Although consistent throughout, it is Alexei’s concerto that brings a third dimension to Mihaileanu’s work. In the moments leading up to the main event, with more pace and fluidity than earlier scenes, the audience witnesses the impending chaos backstage and the overriding nerves on stage, creating an air of anticipation as well as dread for what will happen next.
Another area that the film does excel is in its soundtrack. Radu Mihaileanu utilises the works of Mozart, Tchaikovsky and others to convey emotion from his characters and audience alike. Music plays a central role in this film, and Mihaileanu manages to manipulate the soundtrack, building toward crescendos for important scenes, and he even manages to generate slapstick humour without the music’s epic nature ever feeling misplaced. During the concerto itself, a moving piece of music compounds the final revelation, but perhaps fails to conceal the sad truth that the final twist is neither believable nor anything to write home about.
Although everything is left resolved within the film, The Concerto is perhaps guilty of a failure to commit to comedy or drama. What results is a slightly confused atmosphere throughout, where the audience is unsure whether to laugh or cry. What strikes the most, despite characters played with warmth and gusto, is that the funny moments are not scripted to perfection and thus suffer from bad timing, and the dramatic moments fail to evoke the desired emotion. MC
Film: The Concert
Release date: 16th July 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 122 mins
Director: Radu Mihaileanu
Starring: Aleksei Guskov, Dimitri Nazarov, Melanie Laurent, François Berleand, Miou-Miou
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Studio: Optimum
Format: Cinema
Country: France/Italy/Romania/Belgium/Russia
Having both enjoyed award success and critical acclaim, the teaming of French director Radu Mihaileanu with lead actress Melanie Laurent was promising enough, before adding the wondrous music of Tchaikovsky into the mix.
Under the anti-Semitic Brezhnev regime, Andrei Filipov (Alexei Guskov) lost his prestigious position as conductor of the Bolshoi Orchestra as a punishment for refusing to expel Jewish musicians from the group.
Thirty years on, working as a cleaner at the theatre, he still dreams of taking up the baton once more, and when he finds out that the Bolshoi have been invited to play a concert in Paris, he keeps the news to himself and hatches a plan to take his own orchestra instead.
To this end, he has to reconnect with all the musicians he knew back in the day, getting them to dust off their old instruments and polish up their playing skills. He also has to enlist the help of his old adversary, Ivan Gavrilov (Valeri Barinov), the Communist party activist responsible for Filipov’s humiliating fall from grace, who agrees to go along with the scheme, as he has his own agenda.
Against all odds, the orchestra manages to get to Paris, where the talented violinist Anne-Marie Jacquet (Melanie Laurent) is persuaded to play Tchaikovsky and help heal the wounds of the past...
Mustering a motley crew of Russian musicians with rusty skills to perform at a top venue in Paris is a premise with plenty of comic potential – even if the idea that they can make beautiful music together at the drop of a hat is a bit far-fetched. Still, if you can manage to suspend disbelief and go with the flow, it’s easy enough to be swept away by the enthusiasm and energy of this unlikely ensemble.
Cultural differences between the unruly mob of Slavs and their more sophisticated French hosts play a large part in the humour, and director Radu Mihaileanu highlights the contrast by using fixed camera shots to illustrate Parisian elegance, while hand-held cameras follow the frenetic antics of the Russians.
The cast of characters include an elderly trombonist, who insists that his asthma actually improves his playing, and a gipsy violinist who is particularly well-accomplished on the fiddle, with a sideline in arranging fake passports for orchestra members who need them in a hurry. The character-generated humour works up to a point, occasionally treading a fine line between comic exaggeration and racial stereotyping. Scenes where the Russians speak in faltering French present a particular challenge, as the comic touch runs the risk of becoming lost in translation.
Alexei Guskov, a seasoned veteran of the East European movie scene, with forty films under his belt, gives an earnest and likeable performance as conductor Andrei Filipov, though he comes across as more of a straight man than a natural comedian. His admiration of the violinist Jacquet is such that he keeps all her CDs and press clippings in a folder. A trail of clues seems to suggest a father-daughter relationship, but this is something of a red herring, as the past connection between the pair is not quite so obvious.
Melanie Laurent, best known to an international audience for her role as Shosanna Dreyfuss in Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, has a luminous screen presence as the virtuoso violinist who is haunted by the music of Tchaikovsky - for reasons she cannot quite fathom. Laurent, who is left-handed, learnt to play the violin for the part, a daunting task as the instrument cannot be converted and must be played be right-handed, so she ended up with tendonitis. Bravo: her playing looks authentic enough and no-one can say she isn’t prepared to suffer for her art.
While the challenge of playing a cool and self-controlled character appears to place constraints on her emotional range at times, she is finally able to give her feelings full expression in the climactic scene, when Jacquet faces her fears to perform Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto for the first time.
The score combines original music by Armand Amar with the sublime harmonies of Tchaikovsky, a fine blend in keeping with the musical theme. Mihaileanu neatly ties up loose ends in the highly-charged final scene, interspersing highlights of the concert with flashbacks telling the fate of the Jewish musicians from three decades earlier, while flash forwards show the orchestra on a world tour following their success in Paris.
The message that reverberates through to the final chord is that people’s lives can be transformed, at least temporarily, through the shared experience of music, which crosses barriers of language and culture to achieve harmony and perfection. The fine performances from the players in this concert may merit a round of applause, but the transcendental music of Tchaikovsky is the star. AL
Film: Live And Become
Release date: 19th April 2010
Certificate: 12
Running time: 143 mins
Director: Radu Mihaileanu
Starring: Mosche Abebe, Sirak M Sabahat, Yael Abecassis, Roschdy Zem
Genre: Drama
Studio: Bluebell
Format: DVD
Country: France/Israel
In 1984, during the Ethiopian famine, Israeli authorities and US state forces launched a clandestine operation to evacuate thousands of persecuted Ethiopian Jews from camps in the Sudan over the border to the safety of Israel. It was known as “Operation Moses”. In 2005’s Live And Become, Romanian-born director Radu Mihăileanu tells the story of a boy caught up in this mass exodus, and of his life in Israel. The film won a number of International awards, including the 2005 award for Best Film at the Copenhagen International Film Festival.
Live And Become begins in a refugee camp in the Sudan, where a Christian boy and his mother are stranded with little hope of survival. Seeing a fleeting hope for her son, the mother gives him away to pose as the child of another woman – an Ethiopian Jew – who is to be airlifted to the safety of Israel by the US as part of “Operation Moses”. The boy takes the place of the woman’s recently deceased son and is given the Jewish name Solomon, (or ‘Shlomo’ in the Yiddish familiar). As he leaves his own mother to board the safety of the plane under this new, false identity she tells him: “Go. Live. Become.”
In Israel, following the loss of his pretended mother and saviour, Shlomo is adopted by a kindly liberal French Jewish family, but still struggles to adapt to his new life. He is viciously stigmatised as the only black child in an unwelcoming and exclusionary culture of white faces, and struggles to maintain the false life of a Jew in Israel, forced daily to hide the shameful secret of his Christianity. We follow his life from boyhood through adolescence and watching him slowly grow into a young man.
Never far from Shlomo’s thoughts is the real mother he left behind in the refugee camp. He is reminded of her when he sites the full moon in the night sky which was shining as he first flew out of the camp and from her, and he never loses hope of one day returning to the Sudan to be reunited with her...
Live And Become succeeds as an intensely human story of a soul unfairly torn adrift from the people and places he knows, and it is on this level that the story shines. Rooted by captivating performances by Mosche Agazai, Mosche Abebe and Sirak M Sabahat as Shlomo, at different stages of his development, we are completely engaged throughout the ample running time of 2hrs 20mins by this lost little boy gradually finding his place in the world in the most testing conditions. Without his family, his roots or his religion, Shlomo is forced to resort to his own character to overcome his circumstances, and it is inspiring to see a wily wit and intelligence emerge from him, and gracefully better the ignorance and prejudices of those around him.
The supporting performances are without exception exciting and absorbing, particularly French actor Roschdy Zem and Israli actress Yael Abecassis as Shlomo’s liberal and opinionated adoptive parents. Yitzhak Edgar, too, as Le Qès Amara, Shlomo’s mentor, is a joy to watch, as he delivers a performance of profound gravity, and the film is elevated rather than diminished (as is too often the case) by some extremely competent child actors as Shlomo’s adoptive brother and sister.
Facts and exposition establishing political situations are delivered simply and effectively; you will need no prior knowledge of the Sudanese refugees nor the political or religious climate in Israel to enjoy this film. Similarly, Mihăileanu has managed to tell a deeply effective story of disenfranchised refugees and their situation in Israel – a hotly political issue – without ever becoming preachy or making us feel lectured to. Largely it’s because Live And Become is not a political film, but rather a human one. The themes being analysed are of identity, and religion, including the fascinating question of what it means to be a Jew. It’s a question Shlomo returns to again and again, and in a climate where religious identity becomes more and more important – in some cases a matter of life and death – it’s still one he never really finds an answer to.
Mihăileanu’s camerawork is superb; active and inventive, without ever becoming intrusive or irritating. Shots of the cities of Israel and Paris and the deserts of Africa are awe-inspiring, whereas the isolated world of the little boy lost away from home is captured in beautiful intimacy. The score is expansive and lush, marrying African and Middle-Eastern sounds, and roots us entirely in this extraordinary world; as strange and foreign to us as to the stranded Shlomo.
In Live And Beyond, Mihăileanu has crafted a wonderful piece of filmmaking, full of mesmerising performances, moments of real tension and tenderness, as well as eye-opening social commentary, and a thankful lack of sentimentality. The plot is occasionally too convenient for comfort, but this criticism shouldn’t detract from anyone’s enjoyment of this powerful and important film. A story about survival, identity, faith; about strength and weakness, compassion and ignorance. A truly epic work from a gifted filmmaker which deserves to be globally recognised. LOZ
