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The Song of Names
2019 114 min Canada, Germany, Hungary, United Kingdom PG-13 16+
★6.3
Drama, Music
Director: François Girard
Trailers
Description
A man searches for his childhood best friend, a Polish violin prodigy orphaned in the Holocaust, who vanished decades before on the night of his first public performance.
US Gross:
$1.08M
Worldwide:
$1.14M
Starring
Eddie Izzard
Actor
Gerran Howell
Actor
Stanley Townsend
Actor
Awards
8 wins & 11 nominations total
Key opinion
The Song of Names is a visually polished drama that balances its exploration of Holocaust memory with the profound power of music. While the lead performances are widely praised for their sincerity, the film struggles with a disjointed narrative structure that leaves many viewers feeling emotionally disconnected.
| Score | The musical score acts as a visceral, divine force that elevates the film's most significant dramatic moments. | |
| Acting | Tim Roth and Clive Owen deliver committed, strong performances that provide the film with its necessary emotional anchor. | |
| Production | The film maintains a sophisticated and elevated cultural style, offering a high degree of visual and auditory aesthetic beauty. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay suffers from a reliance on clichéd storytelling and a lack of narrative focus, resulting in thematic imbalances. | |
| Pacing | The pacing transitions from a vibrant, youthful opening into an overly solemn and static second half, leading to a loss of momentum. | |
| Theme | The attempt to blend Holocaust trauma with a detective-style search results in a fragmented emotional impact, as the themes often feel disconnected from one another. |