A 112-minute German film released in theaters in 2019
Eduard Sporck, a world-renowned conductor, agrees to create an orchestra combining young Israelis and Palestinians to deliver a message of peace.
He quickly faces young musicians who have grown up in a state of war and repression… and far from being in harmony. The two best violinists, Layla, the emancipated Palestinian, and the handsome Israeli Ron, deeply distrust each other, both on stage and off. Will Sporck succeed in making them forget their hatred, at least for the three weeks leading up to the concert?
Another new proof that all the best intentions in the world are not enough to make a good film.
And once this foundation is laid, the film only unfolds the expected checklist for this type of narrative – the confrontations between two seemingly irreconcilable camps, accompanied by a few reconciliations here and there – through characters locked in archetypes and lacking nuance.
Crescendo loudly proclaims the noble message it aims to deliver but would have benefited from doing the exact opposite: suggesting instead of hammering. And this even if it avoids the trap of a pure happy ending that would have made it completely out of touch.
