The legend of the ocean pianist
Movie | |
---|---|
German title | The legend of the ocean pianist |
Original title | La leggenda del pianista sull'Oceano |
Country of production | Italy |
original language | English |
Publishing year | 1998 |
length | German version 120, original version 165 minutes |
Age rating | FSK 6 |
Rod | |
Director | Giuseppe Tornatore |
script | Giuseppe Tornatore |
music |
Ennio Morricone Amedeo Tommasi |
camera | Lajos Koltai |
cut | Massimo Quaglia |
occupation | |
|
The Legend of the Ocean Pianist is a 1998 film by Giuseppe Tornatore , based on the monologue Novecento by Alessandro Baricco .
action
The trumpeter Max Tooney has to sell his trumpet to a music dealer for lack of money. When Max plays his trumpet one last time to say goodbye, the music dealer recognizes the piece of music and shows Max a broken record stencil that he found in an old concert grand. Max then tells the music dealer The Legend of the Ocean Pianist :
On New Year's morning in 1900, an infant was found aboard the liner Virginian , who for the sake of simplicity is called the Nineteen Hundred . The first eight years of his life, Nineteen Hundred, is raised by the stoker Danny Boodmann and spends most of that time in the ship's engine room. After an accident that kills Danny, Nineteen Hundred discovers his musical talent and secretly plays a grand piano in the first class ballroom.
Nineteen hundred never left the ship in the following years and played as a pianist in the on-board band. He befriends Max, who repeatedly encourages him to leave the ship.
During his performances with the band, Nineteen Hundred played outstanding jazz interludes and eventually became famous beyond the borders of the Virginian as a jazz pianist. His musical career culminates in winning a “piano duel” between him and jazz musician Jelly Roll Morton .
Neither the offer of a music producer nor the love for a Hungarian émigré can persuade Nineteen hundred to leave the ship. When he wants to take the step towards land "to hear the voice of the ocean", he stops in the middle of the gangway and turns back. As he later explained to Max, he could not see the boundaries of the city (New York) and therefore could not leave the ship.
Max learns from the music dealer that the Virginian served as a military hospital during the war, was decommissioned and is now being prepared for demolition in the harbor. He then tries in vain to persuade Nineteen Hundred, who is still hidden on the ship, to come ashore with him. Nineteen hundred replies that his world lies “between bow and stern” and remains alone on the ship.
While Max stands on the bank and watches, the Virginian is blown up.
In the end, the devastated Max brings back the repaired record matrix to the music dealer that he had borrowed from him to get Nineteen Hundred to leave the ship. He tells the dealer the end of his story. But this gives Max a chance for a new beginning and gives him back his old trumpet.
criticism
The lexicon of international films praised: "Very coherently narrative passages combine with purely cinematic poetry and an extremely atmospheric soundtrack."
Awards
- European film award for best camera to Lajos Koltai
- Golden Globe Award for the best music to Ennio Morricone
- Guild film award in silver
literature
- Alessandro Baricco : Novecento. The legend of the ocean pianist (original title: Novecento ). German by Karin Krieger . Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag (dtv), Munich 2009, 88 pages, ISBN 978-3-423-08225-9 .
- Bianca Vrban: Alessandro Baricco's Novecento: A comparison of text and film . Thesis. Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies at the University of Vienna, 2012 ( Online [PDF; 548 kB ]).
Web links
- The Legend of the Pianist on the Ocean in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Legend of the Ocean Pianist. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .