Seymour: An Introduction

I wept, equally of joy and sadness, for most of an hour and forty minutes. Sit up front and go alone. See it at a theater only. This film is so quiet and delicate...and it just sneaks up on you and goes right through into your heart, gut, soul. It may be the most extraordinary film I've ever seen on the subject of artistry, creativity and its inner workings.....and I've see a few greats:(Frida, Turner, Vivian Maier, etc.)

'Seymour' is about devotion, love, inspiration. And it's big secret is that it GIVES THIS RIGHT TO YOU as you bear witness, if you let it get inside. You cannot go back into the world now. Well, not for a while. Not until you get over to the musical instrument, the pen or type, the camera, the canvas, the clay.

Ethan Hawke....what are you doing to us? The understated, magnificent director you have become! Thank you for this.

Sane, clean and perfectly put together, this film is a quiet rebellion against vulgarity and sensationalism so prevalent in today's entertainment and art. The documentary is a portrait of a classical pianist, drawn by a movie star, in which a master musician ponders on the relationship between a person and his inner creative self. A topic like this always runs a risk of coming across as abstract and esoteric, which in this film is delightfully not the case. The conversation ends up being about subjects painstakingly relevant to any performer: stage fright (and what an artist should make of it), craft, truthfulness to the source, eccentricity versus authenticity, teaching, artistic bravery and success.

The film is filled with wonderful stories like this one: drafted into the army during the Korean War, Seymour finds himself marching for miles tirelessly while his fellow soldiers, seemingly stronger and more fit than he is, faint of exhaustion. He attributes his endurance to his "musician mind set", an explanation, both, unexpected and convincing in the context of the film.

Seymour's every action is motivated by honesty. If there was a stage in his life where he did not feel completely in peace internally, he corrects that eventually, always bringing himself to a state of a perfect inner comfort. There are a few examples of these struggles in the film – the most notable one, of course, is Seymour quitting his successful concert pianist career in favor of teaching.

Very appropriately, the film mimics its subject in its honesty and uncompromising taste. Unfortunately, it also does so in its limited popularity. Call me naive, but I really don't get how a piece of nonsense like Fifty Shades of Grey grows in its media presence with every new bad review it gets, and how a treasure like "Seymour…" gets overlooked by 99.9% of cinema goers.

One more thing. The film is a visual and musical feast. From Seymour's shaded solitary apartment in Manhattan, to the breathtakingly beautiful views of Central Park, to the Rotunda of Steinway Hall, to piano pieces by Chopin, Schumann, Beethoven and Bach, there are countless delicacies for the audiences to savor. If the film had no other merits, but cinematography and musical score, it'd be still worth watching.

Seymour: an Introduction is one of the most touching films I've watched. The title character, Seymour, is charming beyond words. He is beautifully portrayed by Ethan Hawke. The film provides candid interviews with former students and notables of the world of classical music. Each glimpse of this master teacher brings the audience closer to seeing a natural-born teacher in his element. Seymour has mastered the art of inspiring his students to reach the beyond their limits to create the best music they can. Seymour himself seems to magically sprinkle fairy dust on every piano he touches! He is an inspiration to both pianists and non-pianists everywhere. This film will, hopefully, in time, become a classic.

Ethan Hawke directs and appears in this American documentary whose subject is Seymour Bernstein, a renowned pianist who stopped performing in concerts at age fifty and began teaching.

Bernstein is a delightful man in his eighties whose philosophies of life interchange with those of his art. During the film, he mentors Hawke who is now reflecting on his own choices of life and art.

Some of the best dialogue occurs at the beginning and end of the film when the amiable Bernstein speaks of the conflict of trying to mix the inner soul of an artist with the outer commercial and social worlds. It is also fascinating to hear him speak of nervousness before performing. More movie time, however, is spent in his teaching techniques. While this is less interesting than the other discussions, this remains a fine film overall.

There is genuine modesty in Bernstein's personality (compare him to the many less talented people who hire publicists) and likewise that of Hawke for openly admitting his own insecurities. And there is nearly always beautiful classical piano music in the background.

A wonderfully composed and lovingly constructed film about a fascinating man. Mr. Bernstein has paid full attention in his long life, and it's paid dividends. His love of life and music, along with Hawke's love of Bernstein, are contagious. Catch a dose for yourself!

(And while you're at it, you may want to take a look at some of Bernstein's Youtube videos as well. There are lessons from his '80s instructional videos that even a non- player like myself found fascinating. There are some others where he's interviewed by Ben Laude on various artists and multiple facets of music on the Tonebase channel, at least one of which features an elaboration on why he dislikes Glenn Gould's Bach {and Mozart} so much, in case you're wondering after hearing his fairly brief criticism in Hawke's movie.)