10/30/2019

The Song of Names

François Girard, Canada/Hungary, 2019, 113 min, in English and Polish w/English subtitles

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GPJFF Sneak Peek with Fall Fest 2019 Trailer Reveal!
Philadelphia Premiere

Award-winning actors Tim Roth and Clive Owen star in this exceptionally acted, emotional detective story spread over two continents and a half-century.

Directed by François Girard (The Red ViolinHochelaga, Land of Souls), this sweeping historical drama follows Martin (Roth), a man searching for his childhood best friend, Dovidl Rapoport (Owen) – a Polish violin prodigy orphaned in the Holocaust who vanished decades before on the evening of his much-anticipated first public concert. When Dovidl doesn’t perform, Martin is left to tell the packed audience that the performance will not go on. Years later, while serving as a judge in a musical competition, Martin discovers a young student playing in Dovidl’s unique style. The triggering encounter sends him on a transcontinental search that reveals elements of his dear friend’s tormented life – an existence Martin could not have fathomed at the time.

Set against exquisite music and a backdrop of sweeping historic events, this emotionally devastating tale of family, ambition, and friendship is extraordinarily timely as it focuses on the tragic circumstances of the refugee – so often, who are forced from their home by war and forces far beyond their control.