An elderly piano teacher at a women's prison trains an extremely talented but violent young prodigy for a contest.
The music really makes this film. It expresses the emotional life of the characters when words can't and it binds two very different women together. This was a very interesting film, it didn't exactly feel like a foreign film, but the use of subtlety and homo-eroticism was definitely very European.
The acting was very good. I loved how Bleibtreu's stern agony contrasted so brilliantly with her young costar's, who is all grinding teeth, blood on the piano keys, and sweat-drenched rage. The supporting characters blended in the background nicely, it's not really about anyone else besides these two women, but they have their place. There's the prison warden, the childishly-selfish guard, the young nemesis...it all fits.
The one thing about this movie I felt was unnecessary was that homosexual element. Ok, so this elderly woman never loved anyone except for a summer love who happened to be female. We get it, being lesbian makes it interesting. I felt that was a rather blunt attempt to be different. Maybe she should have lost a daughter or a husband, I dunno, there are lots of options besides a lesbian lover.
The story is predictable, but that makes it satisfying. There's no unnecessary moments of clarity and rapid healing, you don't assume these characters are all going to be "all right" from now on, they just have been touched. It all unfolds slowly, there's no pre-story jammed down the viewer's throat, we have to watch and gradually get to understand the characters and why they do what they do. It's great.
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