O Cântico dos Nomes

This is a fictional story but is built on the realities of the 1940s when Jews in Poland were persecuted and many murdered by the Nazis. The title of the movie is a reference to a way to remember the dead until they could all be written down. They created a Song of Names and in this story is said to take 5 days to sing completely.

The story spans about 1939 to about 1986. It starts with a young boy (David), a violin prodigy, who is placed with a British family in London to be able to study violin while his family return to Poland. He and the family's young son (Martin) eventually become almost like brothers.

In 1951 when the boys are in their early 20s, and David is set up for a concert, he doesn't show up with no clue what happened. Then 35 years later Martin is judging a musical competition and sees a young violinist with a mannerism just like David's, that sparks his search for David.

The reasons are complex and Martin eventually learns what happened. It is a good story that ultimately relies on strong family and friendship bonds.

Good movie, my wife and I watched it at home on BluRay from our public library.

What a great movie, believable and well scripted. Both lead characters, both young and old are portrayed really well. A good storyline and history. If you enjoy movies relating to WW2 you will find this a touching drama. The musical score is beautiful.

There are some great aspects to this film. The scenes of childhood & the actors in the midst of WW2 are well depicted. Safe relatively in England, far safer than Poland.

The time shifting sequences flipping from one era to another made things stilted & confusing & annoying more than interesting.

Excellent sets in Poland esp Treblinka & in Hampstead where the main character encounters a survivor of Treblinka & then learns about his own family.

Worth watching but this film could have been outstanding.

Exploring the aspect of the holocaust on those who had managed to leave or not but survive makes a great basis for exploring humanity & the challenges of going on after loss.

The story meanders a lot which gets in the way of building a sense of connection to the adults; the earlier scenes when the key characters are still boys manages to build that connection.

Yes, this is a wonderful and memorable film. The director, Francois Girard, and, I suspect, the same Canadian production company were involved in the 1998 RED VIOLIN. Like that film it takes place over multiple time periods, in this film clearly stated to be 1951, 1986, and the earliest, unidentified time which can be inferred to be sometime between March and September 1939. The scene shifts back and forth a good deal and some critics found this confusing and destructive of continuity but I found no difficulty in following the story line. Memory is not linear and orderly but rather fragmented and out of sequence, particularly when dealing with highly charged emotionally traumatic experiences. This is an exceptionally intelligent screenplay where not everything has to be spelled out. It's true that a key plot point mystery is fairly predictable. Yet the story builds to a wrenching climax in a way you don't see every day in the movies. Tim Roth plays well against type as a quiet, introspective Brit. The score composer, Howard Shore, was involved in composing the impressive music in the Lord of the Rings and does an award-deserving job here. I rate the film at 3.5/4 stars. Strongly recommended for everybody, especially any serious music student as well as anyone of Jewish background, particularly of GenX through to Millennials.

The latest movie from the director who gave us the wonderful "The Red Violin".A film about Family, friendship, music and the holocaust. Good performances from all the cast, a good plot and an okay script. This film definitely pulls at the heartstrings.