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Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The first must-see film of the year.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Veronica, the widow of famous composer Valentin Lucinsky is a bitter woman. She is haunted by the memory of what she thinks was a betrayal by her husband getting inspiration from his muse, Helena, a French woman. All this takes place in the gorgeous Mallorca, an island in the Baleares. Into this conflict comes Larry, an American pianist, who with his girlfriend Miranda run a small pension. Larry wants to pay tribute to the great man, so he must obtain Veronica's permission to play his music in a small amphitheater the great Lucinsky created, using his own grand piano, played by genius Narciso Ortega. Unfortunately, Larry takes on much more than he can deliver. Unfortunately, everything backfires on his good intentions. To make matters worse, his own daughter arrives from America, a girl whom he doesn't really know.There is also another story involving a rich Englishman, Sebastian, who loves music. His brother Dickie, who is always drunk, arrives for a visit. Sebastian, loves to listen to a recording of Strauss' Four Last Songs, something that he repeats over and over. As Dickie begins to get into Sebastian's nerves, a shattering revelation shakes both their lives.This is a film to watch for the magnificent exteriors of Mallorca. Nothing feels real because of Francesca Joseph's implausible screenplay and her own direction, which doesn't make much sense. Although it is by no means a horrible film, it feels empty. The finished product seems such a waste of talent in a story that tries hard to please, but does not go anywhere. The best thing is Mallorca itself, but alas, we don't get a grand tour of that enchanting place, only glimpses of its beauty.

A glorious evening. The film was televised very late (gone midnight our time) - and had been somewhat slated by the Radio Times critic ("...let down by dreary script"). I was fascinated by the title but from the synopsis could not make out what on earth the Four Last Songs had to do with the film, and was it 'THE' Four Last Songs? but had forgotten to check when it was to be televised. Was asleep in front of the TV, woke up, 'time for bed' then suddenly, up came the titles. OK. Let's watch for a few mins. WOW. Very glad that I did so. Sat back and enjoyed the best TV in a very long time - and as for the sound track - glorious. The voice of Sylvia Sass echoing in my mind ever since last night. Now to purchase the CD.So glad that so many people have enjoyed this film - and sorry for the few who didn't. I was intriegued by the dialogue and how it was woven, seamlessly, without art. The acting was excellent, costuming superb - and as for the location. Full marks. I must get the DVD of this film as it is one of the very, very few films that I could watch a second or even a third time.Addendum: spent a leisurely morning checking out Sylvia Sass. Now have a (long) checklist of CD titles to order up (thanks to the poster who posted the name of the soloist.)Mystral (France)

Disclaimer: I know most of the people on whom the characters are (loosely) based, and the area of the production (the village of Deia on the island of Mallorca), and the house in which it's set. I even happened to meet the director as they were getting ready to shoot the film, so I should have a natural tendency to praise this piece.On the flip side, I've been a writer and, as a young pup, a movie theater manager, so I see a lot of film and video, which perhaps makes me a bit more, um, particular about film making.The good stuff: The scenery is glorious, with or without the "homesick factor." The opening shot of the little church atop the mountain, with the several-hundred-year-old terraces of olives and fruit below, makes you want to call Iberia and book the next flight to Spain. The restaurant at the Cala, where you first see Miranda and Larry playing music together, is beautiful (great food, by the way) but looks more glamorous than in real life.The idea of bringing unheard classical music out of the past into modern ears is a good premise, with plenty of subplots going on to keep things interesting, while the idea of my sister popping up in the middle of all these other complications just adds another layer to the stack of amusing plot devices.On the flip side: I felt that the story didn't flow quite as well as I'd expected, perhaps because the dialog didn't strike me as quite sharp enough. It seems like the actors weren't quite sure where to go or what to say at times, so some of the story got a little lost. (I learned later they were instructed to ad lib most of their lines.)Nonetheless, I'd give it good marks for a light comedy, set in an idyllic location, with interesting characters, and a different premise from the usual "two strangers meet and fall in love, with laughs for all" that appears to mark the genre these days.

Actually, I really liked this movie. It was funny and sad and it kept me hooked right to the end. It made one wonder what if we were all put on an island and had to live close together with all our quirks and idiosyncrases exposed. Many of the characters had chosen this Spanish island to either hide or work out their pain or unresolved issues except perhaps the wife of the composer who it appeared was Spanish. I agree with the other commenter, no one in the movie was worried about the priceless piano getting wet except me and the commenter! I feel that the characters were quirky enough to keep one's interest and lots of subplots to make it more interesting. All in all I think this was a good movie.