One of my local Film Festivals mission statement is to ‘Entertain, Educate & Inspire’, which is also my own mantra for movie watching. Recently I have been focusing on the ‘entertain’ part as I attempt to brush up on American Cultural Icons that never had the same impact on us Brits when I was growing up. Last week my study was Hugh Hefner, and this week my assignment was Glenn Gould (and YES I know he’s technically a Canadian and not American, but he still qualifies.)
The fact that there are 6 movies on this musician was the first clue that he is no ordinary man. I chose to watch two of them. First, ‘GENIUS WITHIN: THE INNER LIFE OF GLENN GOULD’, which is a fascinating portrait of an amazing music genius. Born in 1932 to parents already in their 40’s who devoted their entire attention to their gifted son who became a piano concert prodigy in his early teens and an international icon before the age of 20. He refused to play the normal romantic pieces that are expected in a recital, but he revered the music of Bach with which he was soon recognized for making the definitive recordings of many of his compositions.
A stunningly handsome man, with very few friends and intensely private moods and he developed patterns of strange obsessive behavior. Even on the hottest sunny day he never left home without wearing a long heavy coat, big wool scarf, and gloves. And at the peak of his celebrated career with the world at his feet, he decided never to perform in public again. He was just 31 years old.
Gould was desperate to compose, but only ever finished one piece. So he spent his time making other recordings, and then developed a second career as Radio Producer for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
At the age of 50, this lifelong desperate hypochondriac had a stroke and died.
I could sense by the sheer admiration for his music making by some giants in that field, that he was no ordinary talent. Also his quirks and obsessions fascinated me so after this I watched ‘THIRTY TWO SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD’. Inspired by the Goldberg Variations, Gould’s favourite piece, this is no attempt at a bio-pic, but a series of brief vignettes that add layers to what Gould may have been. Some are almost testimonials like the one with Yehudi Menuhin who spoke with such admiration and affection. Others re-enact possible scenarios like just before he plays he autographs a stagehand’s program and adds ‘last concert’ as if he was the first one to know.
I was totally hooked. Whilst ‘GENIUS WITHIN” had a rich archival footage of Gould through his entire life that gave a real sense of the complicated man himself, ’THIRTY TWO SHORT FILMS’ gave a remarkable impression of what made him so fascinating.
See both, and I suggest in the same order I did.
★★★★★★★★
Posted by queerguru at 01:46
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