The Music of Strangers

Yo Yo Ma is legendary and the movie does act like somewhat of a biography of the man, but it's real focus is creating this orchestra that brings together music from many different nations and many different cultures to see how they would sound all as one. So the film gives us good music and a good message about coming together.

While Ma is most likely the most well known of these musicians (At least for me, anyway) The movie does do a profile of a few of the other musicians as well.

But for the most part, it's an excellent conceptual film that introduces all different types of music in the world and the people who make it and how that music can work as one.

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Music documentaries can be fascinating in many cases. This is the case of The Music of Strangers, the documentary produced and directed by Morgan Neville which tells the story of the wonderful musical adventure and inter-culture experience which is 'The Silk Road' ensemble and organization started in 1998 by the famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

The documentary deals both with the initial phases of the project (based on filmed material from their first encounters around the year 2000) and its later evolution. While the value of the cultural interaction is quite well presented, there is less mention if at all about the novelty of the approach of gathering together artists with very different backgrounds and having them play music in a fusion mode that was maybe acceptable in jazz, but much less in classical music where many of them (including Yo-Yo Ma) came from. Actually Ma is a pioneer from this perspective, using his almost pop star reputation to bring classical music to the wider audiences, but also the music of people and peoples to the classical musicians world.

There is no central story telling in the film which mainly builds itself by the interleaved personal stories told by Yo-Yo Ma and a few of the musicians, their own perspective about the work in the the ensemble, the interaction with other musicals, and their philosophies about the scope and the benefits of the project. We have the opportunity to meet Chinese lute virtuous Wu Man and hear her speaking about the challenges of learning and making music in China immediately after the Cultural Revolution, and Spanish bagpiper Cristina Pato about building her path as a woman artist in a less developed area of Spain, we see Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh talking about his feelings about making music while his country is torn by war, and Iranian musician Kayhan Kalhor telling the story of his family broken by the political situation in his country and by exile. Most of all we see their opening to dialog and artistic collaboration, their passion of talking and especially playing music. A few of the meetings, concerts, family reunions and activities of volunteering with refugees are caught also on record.Watching them is a fascinating and beautiful cultural and musical experience.

I've watched this movie during 9 hours flight from Dubai to Jakarta. And the only movie I watched till the end. It really moved me. Music and the other kind of arts really the best language to unite different cultures. It really the big idea from big person like Yo Yo Ma. The editing of this film really amazing and create a beautiful story. Bravo

This movie is screening in New Zealand as part of the International Film Festival.

It is one of the most moving films I have seen in a long time. Yo Yo Ma and the other members of the Silk Road Ensemble are not only brilliant musicians, they are inspirational human beings.

Their passion for music and their ability to blend the music of different cultures is fully on display in the movie; sometimes their music filled me with joy; at other times it moved me to tears.

The most moving scene for me was to see the two Syrian members of the Ensemble going into the Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan and reaching out to the children their with their music and their message of hope. I defy anyone to watch it with dry eyes. Truly a movie for the times we are living in.

Yo-yo Ma and The Silk Road Ensemble have such a warm rapport with each other and the audience. It is uplifting in this current political climate of divisiveness to see such cooperation and empathy all through the film. The music is wonderful and Yo-Yo Ma is a very special ambassador of international good will.