Underplayed Gems

Lecture 21 (2008)

Lecture 21 poster
Original title
Lezione ventuno
Directed by
Alessandro Baricco
Genre
drama film
Country
Italy
Runtime
1h 32m
Rated
12
Rating
6.1 of 10 from 17 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

In 2007, a professor gives a lecture about a musician who traveled to a remote mountain village in 1824 to understand Beethoven's 9th symphony before dying. The film mixes dramatized scenes with interviews, presented as a documentary.

contemplativereflectivemelancholicslowintellectualsomberdocumentary-stylemeditative

What happens

Lecture 21 (aka 'Lezione 21' 'Lesson 21') is a 2008 British-Italian film written and directed by Alessandro Baricco and starring John Hurt, Noah Taylor and Leonor Watling. The film is in English. The film is set in 1824, 1997 and 2007 and tells the tale of a Professor (John Hurt) delivering a lecture about a musician (Noah Taylor) coming to a remote village in the mountains to better understand Beethoven's 9th symphony before he dies. The film is presented as a documentary, as Leonor Watling and her friends recall the lesson, the audience views what happens as though it were real. The lesson is interspersed with documentary-style interviews of a variety of musicians, who provide a secondary narration. It also features Clive Russell, Matthew T. Reynolds, Daniel Tuite, Andy Gathergood, Rasmus Hardiker, Michael Jibson and Natalia Tena. It had its North American premiere at the Miami International Film Festival in 2009. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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