'Without Music, Life would be a mistake.'
- Friedrich Nietzsche
The power of art lies in the notion that it can infect and console people from different eras of history. When one is exposed to a great piece of art, be it a painting, sculpture, drama, music, or even a great film, that often gives us a transcendent experience, as if some sort of out-of-body experience. While I am not sure if it is appropriate to put that in such a spiritual manner, I think it is quite close to euphoric feeling one can get through the appreciation of art. For this time, we will look at the adventure of a piece of musical instrument, through a duration of 300 years and across the world through five countries - Francois Girard's 'The Red Violin'!
The epic story concerns a violin, which was made by an Italian craftsman called Bussotti in 1681. Through a number of unlikely circumstances, the red-colored violin has been involved in a number of stories from different parts of the world, through a lengthy period of more than three centuries. Unfolding the stories through a series of tarot cards, the violin's 'adventure' reflected the many aspects of human existence - love, desire, sacrifice, and how art can really influence one's actions, even when that may come with a cost.
Girard has made a number of films involving music before, and the award-winning score by John Corigliano (who also wrote the famous score for the hypnotic Ken Russell film 'Altered States') is also very impressive. It seems that the story of the violin is quite like the idea of the Will in Arthur Schopenhauer's philosophy. It should be noted that Schopenhauer's Will is amoral - it has both positive and negative attributes, and indeed that is why it resembles life itself. For many people, will is very much the same as desire, which is something fundamental for humanity. While some desire can provide pleasure and ecstasy, others are often the origins of suffering. What Schopenhauer believed was that art can console us because it can at least temporarily lead us away from much of the negative attributes offered from the Will and our existence. To this great German philosopher, music is the highest form of art, indeed 'a true universal language', because he felt that music is the direct image of the Will, not mere representations like the other aspects from life. This point of view has certainly influenced Nietzsche, as he appreciated the Dionysian aspect that music has offered.
For the red violin, impersonal as it is, has turned out to bear witness to a number of different historical contexts for a span of almost 300 years around the world. With the brilliant craftsmanship and commitment, Bussotti has not only made a beautiful piece of musical instrument, he has also put a lot of passion into that. Indeed, the reason why the violin is red in the first place has a personal and intimate reason, which is affirmative to past memories one needs to treasure. The music from this violin has the ability to touch so many people from diverse culture in different times. Some people have fallen in love with the music, others are willing to sacrifice for its preservation. It is wonderful to see the violin's 'will to live' (it sounds ridiculous to be honest!), as it has escaped its own destruction for so many times throughout the movie! I suppose what makes the violin such a legacy is that it brings together the universal aspect of humanity - how great art and cultural artifact can connect people together and give people an experience of the sublime.
This epic adventure of the Red Violin should be valued by anyone who loves music and cinema!
by Ed Law
