Sunday, June 26, 2016

The Music of Strangers:Z YoYoMa and the Silk Road Ensemble

"The Music of Strangers: Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble" is a documentary covering over 16 years of Yo Yo Ma and a group of musicians from many countries of the world coming together to share in the one language they all understand…..music. This is a feature length documentary directed by Morgan Neville which should have been better exhibited as a short film of not more than 1/3 its length instead of the current 96 minute version.
What is also disturbing is that the music played is primarily eastern and middle eastern (in order to highlight the ancient instruments the musicians use) giving no heed to the ears and taste of its western audience.
What comes through loud and clear is the warmth and caring of musician/humanistYo Yo Ma but a shorter version of the documentary would have more than given us this insight.
I give the film 2 stars and suggest that anyone who goes to see it can leave after the first 30 minutes knowing they will have avoided  60 minutes more of the same.

No comments:

Post a Comment