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MUSIC

OF THE TICKER



(1999)


SKILFUL!


OSCAR
NOMINATIONS:


Best Actress (Meryl Streep)


Original Commotion


DIRECTED BY:

Wes Craven


WRITTEN BY:

Pamela Gray


PITCH:

Gloria Estefan


LINKS:



Official
Site

(Miramax)



IMDb

details & showtimes

Now On tap:

"Small
Wonders"

VHS

Documentary that inspired the making of Music of the
Heart 

Miramax may have lost some of its iconoclastic edge as it has increased
in wealth and stature, but with

Music of the Heart

, it proves that
it has not lost the ability to take a true story and create an inspiring,
sentimental cinematic experience. A lot of the "teacher in the
blighted inner city school" movies involve men in high schools
drowning in violence, sex, and drugs. In this film, we have a woman who
has always loved music, who majored in teaching violin, but who put her
music career as performer and teacher on hiatus until her navy husband
left her for another woman.

Roberta’s teaching is not just for her students. It is the path by
which she knits together a sense of self, which is independent of her role
of wife and house mom. She emerges as a compassionate and demanding violin
teacher in East Harlem. This is no simple task for Roberta. Teachers,
parents, and students are at first unsupportive if not openly hostile. Her
new lover leaves for a job out of town. Her boys exhibit rebellion and
blame her for their father leaving. She can’t afford contractors, so she
hires ex-cons to build her new home. Her mother is appalled at the idea of
working and spending money to build a house in Harlem.

Roberta’s strength grows not only through learning to teach the
inner-city kids, but also from gaining independence from her mother and
the fantasy of the return of her ex-husband, and her growing clarity with
her new man, co-workers, and the Principal.

Anna-Maria teared up through most of this film. Craig, who is usually
more sentimental, joined her in a few moments . Rarely do we see a work
that is not only based on awe-invoking true events, but is also told in a
dramatic, powerful, coherent story. It unwinds slowly, but our sympathy
was always with Roberta and her kids and students.

And who better to play Roberta Gauspari than Meryl Streep. She brings
amazing grace and subtlety to her role. How can one ever do justice to her
unparalleled skill? She is a master of those minute expressions that look
so natural that our empathy is absolute. She expresses more character in the
crook of her little finger than many do in their entire repertoire of
techniques. The Academy has owed Ms. Streep an Oscar ever since the

Bridges
of Madison County

. We are sure she will be nominated again and from
what we have seen so far, we favor her to take home the little gold
fellow.

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We are also tickled that director Wes Craven, the master of the campy
teen slasher genre, steps behind the camera in a character and sentiment
driven work. 

Like

Mr. Holland’s Opus

,

Music of the Heart

focuses on
the impact that music has on the growing souls of young people, even those
who do not go on with music careers. Roberta’s efforts certainly prove
that, and the most beautiful moments in the movie do not come from her
fight to teach violin, but from the music itself.

Even if we are hearing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", our
hearts simply melt when a bunch of kids from the worst neighborhood manage
to produce harmonious sound. Music is the salve for our souls. It can
express when our mouths are mute. It can uplift when our hearts ache. It
can create harmony where we only see discord, and most of all, it can make
us strong because it nourishes our heart and soul. This is the message of
the

Music of the Heart

.

For some, the film may seem overly sentimental, at times even treacly,
but the metaphorical power of the production and the overall theme of
finding and giving strength through the perfection of personal gifts
create an important and inspiring message.