I knew that this film was listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, as a documentary of sorts I didn't know anything about the subject matter, but with high ratings by critics I was looking forward to it. Basically it is biopic about Canadian pianist Glenn Gould, one of the best-known and most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century. The difference with this film is there is not a single narrative, it is made up of thirty-one short films, or vignettes (sketches) (the thirty-second film is the end credits), mostly featuring Gould's music.
The thirty-two short films are: 1) Aria - a man walking in a white wilderness. 2) Lake Simcoe - Glenn's childhood, his Mother (Katya Ladan) watching him learning to play piano. 3) Forty-five Seconds and a Chair - Glenn Gould (Colm Feore) sat in a chair. 4) Bruno Monsaingeon: musician and collaborator. 5) Gould Meets Gould: text by Glenn Gould - Gould talking to himself in a studio. 6) Hamburg - Gould diagnosed with bronchitis in the lung, then doing a piano recording and doing something with the maid. 7) Variation of C Minor - an animation of an audio wave line. 8) Practise. 9) The L.A. Concert - Gould walking through the theatre corridors meeting people. 10) CD318 - piano playing on stage, with close-ups of they keys, hammers and strings. 11) Yehudi Menuhin: violinist. 12) Passion According to Gould - Gould listening to piano. 13) Opus 1: a Composition by Glenn Gould - four men sitting playing string instruments. 14) Crossed Paths - various friends and colleagues interviewed. 15) Truck Stop - "Downtown" by Petula Clark playing in a roadside diner, there is eavesdropping on many conversations. 16) The Idea of North: A Radio Interview by Glenn Gould. 17) Solitude - Gould walking and talking in the snow with an invisible interviewer. 18) Questions with No Answers - journalists and interviewers asking Gould questions, face to face and on telephone, no responses are heard. 19) A Letter. 20) Gould Meets McLaren: Animation by Norman McLaren - dancing spheres in a forward moving sky. 21) The Tip - phone calls about shares in Sotex. 22) Personal Ad - Gould advertising to find someone as odd as him. 23) Pills - close-ups of drugs, with names and descriptions given, and their side effects. 24) Margaret Pacsu: friend. 25) Diary of One Day - writing of words and number sums on screen, and an x-ray of a body moving and the brain. 26) Motel Wawa - an interview on the telephone, and a window looking out to a beach. 27) Forty-Nine - Gould in a phone booth. 28) Jessie Greig: cousin. 29) Leaving - driving and Gould dying, following a stroke he suffered brain damage and was taken off life support. 30) Voyager - a space shuttle launch. 31) Aria - a repeat sequence. 32) End Credits.
Also starring Derek Keurvorst as Gould's Father, Devon Anderson as Young Glenn Age 3, Joshua Greenblatt as Young Glenn Age 8, Sean Ryan as Young Glenn Age 12, Kate Hennig as Chambermaid and Sean Doyle as Porter. Feore gives a remarkable performance as the talented musician, the music of the real Gould is beautiful and goes well with the scenes, the editing is well done, and each segment, whether its acted, an interview or animated adds something different, you can draw your own conclusion of the real man being focused, a brilliantly crafted and most interesting biographical drama. Very good!
The thirty-two short films are: 1) Aria - a man walking in a white wilderness. 2) Lake Simcoe - Glenn's childhood, his Mother (Katya Ladan) watching him learning to play piano. 3) Forty-five Seconds and a Chair - Glenn Gould (Colm Feore) sat in a chair. 4) Bruno Monsaingeon: musician and collaborator. 5) Gould Meets Gould: text by Glenn Gould - Gould talking to himself in a studio. 6) Hamburg - Gould diagnosed with bronchitis in the lung, then doing a piano recording and doing something with the maid. 7) Variation of C Minor - an animation of an audio wave line. 8) Practise. 9) The L.A. Concert - Gould walking through the theatre corridors meeting people. 10) CD318 - piano playing on stage, with close-ups of they keys, hammers and strings. 11) Yehudi Menuhin: violinist. 12) Passion According to Gould - Gould listening to piano. 13) Opus 1: a Composition by Glenn Gould - four men sitting playing string instruments. 14) Crossed Paths - various friends and colleagues interviewed. 15) Truck Stop - "Downtown" by Petula Clark playing in a roadside diner, there is eavesdropping on many conversations. 16) The Idea of North: A Radio Interview by Glenn Gould. 17) Solitude - Gould walking and talking in the snow with an invisible interviewer. 18) Questions with No Answers - journalists and interviewers asking Gould questions, face to face and on telephone, no responses are heard. 19) A Letter. 20) Gould Meets McLaren: Animation by Norman McLaren - dancing spheres in a forward moving sky. 21) The Tip - phone calls about shares in Sotex. 22) Personal Ad - Gould advertising to find someone as odd as him. 23) Pills - close-ups of drugs, with names and descriptions given, and their side effects. 24) Margaret Pacsu: friend. 25) Diary of One Day - writing of words and number sums on screen, and an x-ray of a body moving and the brain. 26) Motel Wawa - an interview on the telephone, and a window looking out to a beach. 27) Forty-Nine - Gould in a phone booth. 28) Jessie Greig: cousin. 29) Leaving - driving and Gould dying, following a stroke he suffered brain damage and was taken off life support. 30) Voyager - a space shuttle launch. 31) Aria - a repeat sequence. 32) End Credits.
Also starring Derek Keurvorst as Gould's Father, Devon Anderson as Young Glenn Age 3, Joshua Greenblatt as Young Glenn Age 8, Sean Ryan as Young Glenn Age 12, Kate Hennig as Chambermaid and Sean Doyle as Porter. Feore gives a remarkable performance as the talented musician, the music of the real Gould is beautiful and goes well with the scenes, the editing is well done, and each segment, whether its acted, an interview or animated adds something different, you can draw your own conclusion of the real man being focused, a brilliantly crafted and most interesting biographical drama. Very good!