Tous les Matins du
Monde (All The Mornings Of The World)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: B- Film: B-
Gerard Depardieu and his son Guillaume Depardieu play two
eras of the life of the same man in the 1991 film Tous les Matins du Monde
(All The Mornings Of The World).
Can Marin Matins (the Depardieus) become a great Classical musician
under the auspices of the great French composer Sainte Colombe? The film explores that relationship and tries
to ask the question of what real music or any music really is. Director Alain Corneau attempts to take on
those issues and more.
Of course, having the son of the famous French actor and
movie star is somewhat of a gimmick and Guillaume has not seen his career take
off in since, yet his performance is convincing enough with the added
attraction of being able to do more than his father with he role. Unfortunately, neither era of the character
gets enough time to develop properly, which limits how any of the issues are
resolved. Though the music in interesting,
other films have done this kind of thing better and more will. However, there is enough here to enjoy and
its critical and commercial success at the time is understandable enough. Jean-Pierre Marielle, Michel Bouquet and
Anne Brochet also star.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.66 X 1 image is a little
softer than its sometimes-diffused look should have it be. It is no Barry Lyndon to begin with,
but still has some fine shots by cinematographer Yves Angelo. The problem is that in this genre, you need
to really excel visually to distinguish yourself form other such films. Give or take the limits of this DVD, these
images just do not stick with one for long.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 remix from the original Dolby A-type theatrical
sound lacks surrounds and shows its age.
Like the two DVDs of Milos Forman’s Amadeus (1984), the music and
sound have not been upgraded as much as it needed and both should get DTS
treatment. All the extras outside of
the 8-page booklet are on DVD 2, including the original trailer, an interviews
piece, a “making of” featurette and a 65-minutes-long piece on
composer/musician Jordi Savali.
- Nicholas Sheffo
