Maestro

shot in the wonderful greens and reds of "Amelie" and other near-real fantasies, maestro is a visually engaging treat. kudos to a brilliant young cinematographer named Daniel Stephens. however, the fun does not stop there. Daniel and his director, Doug stradley, have penned a touching and deeply amusing script about inspiration, obsession, and ultimately, love. Seth myers is both funny and believable as bowling alley attendant/ conductor Tim healey. his frustration is palpable as he stretches his frail understanding of music to the breaking point again and again in pursuit of the inexpressible "AIR." this is an all around standout short, strong in so many of the areas where shorts usually fail. the supporting cast is excellent, the sets are quite good, even the Foley is funny. i look forward to the commentary reel!

I thought Maestro was simply wonderful. Each shot was rich with color and imagery, veritable candy for the eyes. The story captivates you from the beginning to end. You can not help but route for the "boy" and his dream of becoming a composer. It leaves you feeling truly inspired that even people from the most ordinary walks of life can be chosen for a magical purpose. Even if that magical purpose involves more than you had bargained. Love, triumph, courage, determination, Maestro has it all. One lesson being, to look at the world through many perspectives because whatever we need is right here. This was wonderfully demonstrated in the bowling alley when Tim Healy learns to coordinate all his surrounding sounds. I had many giggles over the Sean Connery-esquire V.O.s and even got chills from the composing, needless to say I also enjoyed the soundtrack.

This cute short film starts off really strong with a fun little montage that quickly brings us up to date on the story: a mysterious composition, AIR, written by a composer who promptly hung himself upon its completion, has frustrated composers down through the years -- not to mention destroying them much like SPINAL TAP destroys drummers -- finds its way on to a bowling alley jukebox and insinuates its self into the head of the lead character when he is a boy. He becomes obsessed with it and begins his pursuit of becoming a conductor.

But once this montage is over and we jump to the present day, things s-l-o-w down and a lot of the fun of film is dragged down with the pacing. The story moves too slowly toward a nice but sappy ending. Why do filmmakers nearly always think longer is better? Short films should be _short_; get in as quickly as you can, make your point and get out while the getting is good! That's why they're called _shorts_. Had this film been edited down to under 20 minutes it would have been much more enjoyable. A much snappier editing pace would have glossed over the simplistic story and spotty acting and highlighted the good qualities that are definitely there.

The camera work is nice, the sets are beautiful and colorful -- if a bit too obviously set-like -- and Seth Meyers as the protagonist is engaging ... but not quite up to the task of really bringing us inside the character; he's more of a sketch comic than a true empathetic actor. And the music used to represent AIR was a very funky choice. A repeated refrain from a U2 song? I love U2 but using something so modern and well known does a disservice to this story about a supposedly rare, complicated and overwhelming classical composition.

Still, a cute idea with some moments of nice execution. The filmmaker's next film is worth looking out for.