Nodame Cantabile

Posted by: artsyfutsy on: March 15, 2010

• In: Classical | Movies & Books
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Since I’m the one writing this review, you can make a guess what this movie is about. Classical music and the Orchestra of course! I still have another review to write but I’ll leave that to when I come back from band camp.

Nodame Cantabile is the movie version and the finale to the whole series. It all started from a comic book then it was made into a drama serial and now, the movie. The one I watched today is Part 1 of the movie. The second sequel will be out in April.

For those of you who are planning to watch this movie, be warned, it’ll will be extremely confusing unless you have read the comic version and watched the drama serial. I didn’t do either and I ended up quite confused. Well, the movie ended quite abruptly too since there will be a sequel in April.

Ok this movie is about a girl named Nodame who goes to Paris with her conductor boyfriend, Chiaki, to study Piano at the Conservatoire de Paris. Chiaki wins a conducting competition and lands the post of resident conductor of the Marlet Symphony Orchestra. Little did he know that the Orchestra was nearly bankrupt and not up to standard. Chiaki also has to battle an uncooperative concert master.

Meanwhile, Nodame is extremely stressed over her promotional exams and is constantly found asleep on the Piano when Chiaki comes back from conducting the Orchestra.

Nodame is the typical Japanese girl depicted in drama serials. Extremely “blur” and hopelessly  in love with Chiaki. She does a lot of stupid things in the movie which resulted in the audience roaring with laughter.

The music showcased in the movie was very cliched. They were well-known pieces like Ravel’s Bolero and Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. These two pieces are some of my favourite classical pieces but I find that the Orchestra did not do justice to it. Most of the movie is concentrated on the Orchestra playing these pieces so if you’re not a fan of classical music, I strongly discourage you to watch.

Nodame is determined to work very hard to catch up with Chiaki’s standard (Chiaki plays both the Piano and Violin) in order to fulfill her dream—-to be able to work together with Chiaki (She as a solo pianist with an orchestra while he conducts the orchestra) but her dreams are dashed and she breaks down when she hears how wll he played the Brahms concerto that she couldn’t master.

What I never understood was why because of that Brahms concerto, he had to move out and break up with her. The movie claims that it’s for the sake of Nodame so that she can concentrate and improve. Leaving her would make her even more devastated and this will have even more disastrous results on her laying. Couldn’t he have stayed to encourage and teach her?

To quote the Straits Times review, “this movie is extremely confusing and ends nowhere.” The second sequel in April will be focusing more on their romance rather than the music. I suggest you watch the sequel rather than this. This movie is a total waste of money unless you are there to listen to an Orchestra play classical music but I’d much rather use the money to watch a live and much better orchestra like the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

-Sarah