FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

SnoopyStyle A Nicolo Bussotti violin, known as "the red violin," is auctioned off in Montreal. It was built in 1681 and Nicolo's last. The movie follows the violin from the story of its construction to the present. Nicolo's wife Anna Rudolfi is pregnant and her servant Cesca reads the tarot cards. When Anna dies in childbirth with her child, Nicolo mixes her blood with the vanish to paint on the violin giving it the unusual red color. The tarot cards foretells the future of the violin and not Anna.This is a difficult thing to make each section as compelling as possible. In the end, that is not achieved. Each section doesn't have enough time to tell its drama compellingly. Also the movie already shows that the violin doesn't get buried or burned. The music is beautiful as long as you love violin music. This is a beautiful sounding movie but the plot doesn't have much tension. There are some poetic moments but it meanders a bit.

Sofia Duarte I understand this movie is about a violin, but what are objects if there is no human hands to make them "alive"? My point is: I love the fact that the violin is somehow cursed because of the cause that made it red, but it doesn't stand for itself, without a musician's hands to bring it to life. So, why wasn't i able to feel any connection with any of the characters? The movie tries to say too much as it explores too many stories, only to tell us the violin is cursed, but it failed to deliver, because for the viewer to feel that, there would have to be a connection between us and the characters. On the contrary, i couldn't care less about any of them, except maybe the orphan virtuoso.I also felt that the "passion" that I (as a viewer) was supposed to feel for the violin, just wasn't there. There should be more emotional items to connect the viewer to it, like for instance, better music. What happened to sweet and dramatic and revealing melodies? They aren't there at all, and it's such a shame. I remember when i saw "Copying Beethoven" i cried all the way through his concerto, because i felt attached to him, Diane Kruger's character, and all the music, all the instruments, it was all wonderful in that scene. This movie doesn't have high moments like that.I rate it with 5 out of ten, because, although i was expecting more of this movie, i was entertained, and i also loved the motif that made the violin red. I liked the fact that we followed the violin in different moments of History, i liked that it wasn't centered only in one place and one story, i just think that it should be more centered in the characters and on how the violin grew on them.Overall it's an "ok" movie.

xrayman42 All I can say is WOW! This is truly a masterpiece of cinema. I watched this on a whim one evening and I am so thankful I did. The story is superb, the acting is excellent, and the music score was just "outstanding"! This is the kind of film that true hardcore movie buffs revel in finding while having to sift through the so many bad ones made over the years. But if your lucky enough to find it then you will find that it does not disappoint! If only they made more films like this one. If anything you might come out feeling a little more educated in the art of classical music.lol But seriously folks this is a must see film for anyone looking for a very entertaining movie of substance. It has it all,.. sadness, happiness, danger, love, anger,etc....! it is truly one of the best! If you haven't seen it then you are truly missing out.

GeneSiskel Director Girard likes classical music and campy cinematic set-pieces. If you like either -- particularly the set-pieces: hoary, over-the-top grifts and costume dramas -- you'll probably enjoy this film. The sound won an Oscar, presumably for Joshua Bell's lovely, beautifully recorded playing of John Corigliano's derivative violin music; the compositions themselves aren't very interesting. The stories feature a 17th century tarot card reading, an orphanage run by monks high in the Austrian alps, an opium-stocked Edwardian lord whose fiddling makes Greta Schacchi swoon and her prose definitely purple, and one of those high-end auctions where folks call in on the phone and the auctioneer keeps saying "Fair warning" in a plummy English accent. It's a showy film, not arty or especially clever, but it's interesting enough for an evening at home.