Maestro(s)

Maestro(s)
Original title:Maestro(s)
Director:Bruno Chiche
Release:Vod
Running time:87 minutes
Release date:Not communicated
Rating:
In the Dumar family, conductors are passed down from father to son: François (Pierre Arditi), the patriarch, is completing a long and brilliant international career, while Denis (Yvan Attal), the son, has just won yet another Classical Music Award. When François learns that he has been chosen to direct La Scala, his ultimate dream, his Holy Grail, he is overjoyed. Happy for his father, and at the same time envious, Denis is quickly disheartened when he discovers that there is a mistake and that it is actually him who is expected in Milan...

Mulder's Review

In a context in which cinema is rather turned towards topical themes having a particular echo in the spectators to see more or less successful blockbusters, it is good from time to time to discover a film which leaves the conventional paths to give an important part to the classical music. 

While most of the musical films released recently are biopics (Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), Rocketman (2019), Elvis (2022)), Bruno Chiche's new film, for which he co-wrote the screenplay with Yaël Langmann and Clément Peny, prefers to play the countermeasure by putting classical music at the center of the story and to show us that it emanates a real emotional force as much as this film. In Maestro(s), a real family drama and a strong rivalry between a father and his son who are two brilliant conductors and whose first one arrives at the end of a very beautiful career while the second one starts to leave the shadow of this one and to know a growing success.

It is not a coincidence that the film begins with the Victoires de la Musique Classique and that we discover Denis (Yvan Attal) who has just won a Victoire de la Musique Classique and whose father François (Pierre Arditi) is heading towards the end of a long and brilliant international career. When François receives a call to offer him the opportunity to conduct at La Scala, he sees it as a way to end his career in style. However, he is quickly disillusioned when he learns that the call he received was not for him but for his son Denis, who does not seem to be totally won over by the idea of changing his life while he is happy in Paris with his new girlfriend and the shared custody of his only son with his ex-wife played by Pascale Arbillot.

The director Bruno Chiche (Hell (2005), Je n'ai rien oublié (2010), Le bonheur des Dupré (2011), L'un dans l'autre (2016)) simply offers with Maestro(s) his best film to date and far from being a simple popular comedy directs it towards a mix between auteur cinema and a more intimate work based on two excellent actors Yvan Attal, and Pierre Arditi and many well-written supporting roles Miou-Miou, Pascale Arbillot and Caroline Anglade. Maestro(s) manages to show all the emotional and lyrical power that comes out of classical music and how being a conductor requires many qualities and a perfect musical ear to get the best out of each musician in his orchestra. Like a director who must supervise his team to the best of his ability, a conductor is the central element in the success of a concert. 

Maestro(s) thus stands out from the many French films that surf on the tastes of the public thanks to the popularity of certain actors. Its success is due to its two main actors who represent two generations of actors as in this film the father and son conductor. Far from resting solely on a conflict of generations, Maestro(s) marks our memory by the great care taken to highlight the classical music and especially what happens backstage far from the public eye. The result is a perfectly mastered film that manages to reconcile the public with classical music while showing once again that Yvan Attal is an excellent actor when he is directed by an invested director and benefits from a sufficiently well-constructed role for him to give his best. We can only encourage you to discover this film.

Maestro(s)
Directed by Bruno Chiche
Produced by Philippe Rousselet
Written by Bruno Chiche, Yaël Langmann, Clément Peny
With Yvan Attal, Pierre Arditi, Miou-Miou, Pascale Arbillot, Caroline Anglade, Nils Othenin-Girard
Music : Florencia DI Concilio
Image : Denis Rouden
Editing : Widy Marché
Production companies: Vendôme Production
Distributed by Apollo Films / Orange Studio (France)
Release date : December 7, 2022 (France)
Running time : 87 minutes

Seen on October 4, 2022 at Cinéma CGR les Lilas Room Ice

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