Rent All the Mornings of the World (1991)

For viol enthusiasts only - All the Mornings of the World review by JD

The viol looks pretty much like a cello and this film shows how a French viol player developed techniques for improving its sound in the mid 18th century. Do not be fooled that Gerard is pictured on the front, his part is central but not the main character by far. The miming of viol playing is absolutely appalling. It would have been better to leave the arms out of shot. As you might imagine for a film about a viol, the pace is slow and the story pretty thin.

Bass Notes - All the Mornings of the World review by Steve

Lovely, exquisitely crafted period drama which is a fictional story about two genuine musicians in the reign of Louis XIV of France. The main casting is perhaps gimmicky with Guillaume Depardieu as an apprentice player of the bass viol while his real-life father Gérard plays him as an older man in the court at Versailles.

In 17th century Burgundy, the younger Marin Marais was taught the bass viol by Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe, master of the instrument. According to Wikipedia, little else is known. But in this version, the maestro (Jean-Pierre Marielle) is visited by his dead wife and plays in austere isolation rather than perform in society...

Meanwhile, the novice falls in love with his lonely daughter (Anne Brochet) and breaks her heart. The charm of the film is how the lower pitch of the bass viol flows into the deeper, more melancholy experiences; like grief, loss, regret and unrequited love. Because music communicates emotions we don't have words for...

And this gives the film considerable atmosphere. Depardieu senior reads out long passages from the novel (by Pascal Quignard) but as it is accompanied by the music of the Baroque, the extraordinarily artistic still lifes of the dusty interiors and the gorgeously photographed rural locations, this is no hardship at all!