Four Last Songs (film)
Encyclopedia
Four Last Songs is a 2007 British
comedy
drama film
starring Stanley Tucci
, Rhys Ifans
and Hugh Bonneville
, and written and directed by Francesca Joseph.
The film's title is taken from Four Last Songs
, 1948 composition of Richard Strauss
, surrounding acceptance of death.
), an ex-pat piano player, settled in a remote island village seven years ago. Now he runs a small boutique hotel with his girlfriend, Miranda (Jessica Hynes). Every evening he plays the piano at a local restaurant to inattentive customers; all this has left him highly unsatisfied, and he has always wanted to do something big in life. So one day he decides to host a gala concert dedicated to a native son and noted composer, Valentin Lucinsky, whose widow Veronica (Marisa Paredes
) still resides in a grand villa in the village.
At first Larry manages to convince Veronica to allow the concert to be held at the local amphitheatre, where famous pianist Narcisco Ortega (Virgile Bramly) would play her late great spouse's music, 'chosen by her'. Though soon things start to go awry, as his long lost daughter Frankie (Jena Malone
) arrives out of the blue, looking for him, another social-climber, Sebastian Burrows (Hugh Bonneville
), latches on to the project convincing Veronica to give it to him and Larry's girlfriend grows suspicious of his relationship with the composer's former muse, Helena (Emmanuelle Seigner
), who leads a secluded life on the island. As the movie progresses several sub plots reveal a variety of estrangements between various key characters, and gradually they are healed amidst the rising melodrama surrounding the concert
(Majorca) island in the Mediterranean Sea
and part of the Balearic Islands
archipelago
, in Spain, in fact the Spanish version of the film is titled 'Mallorca's Song'
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
starring Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci is an American actor, writer, film producer and film director. He has been nominated for several notable film awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance in The Lovely Bones...
, Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
and Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Richard Bonneville Williams, known professionally as Hugh Bonneville , is an English stage, film, television and radio actor.-Education:...
, and written and directed by Francesca Joseph.
The film's title is taken from Four Last Songs
Four Last Songs
The Four Last Songs for soprano and orchestra were the final completed works of Richard Strauss, composed in 1948 when the composer was 84. Strauss did not live to hear the premiere, given at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 22 May 1950 by the soprano Kirsten Flagstad accompanied by the...
, 1948 composition of Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
, surrounding acceptance of death.
Plot
Larry (Stanley TucciStanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci is an American actor, writer, film producer and film director. He has been nominated for several notable film awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance in The Lovely Bones...
), an ex-pat piano player, settled in a remote island village seven years ago. Now he runs a small boutique hotel with his girlfriend, Miranda (Jessica Hynes). Every evening he plays the piano at a local restaurant to inattentive customers; all this has left him highly unsatisfied, and he has always wanted to do something big in life. So one day he decides to host a gala concert dedicated to a native son and noted composer, Valentin Lucinsky, whose widow Veronica (Marisa Paredes
Marisa Paredes
María Luisa Paredes Bartolomé, , better known in show business as Marisa Paredes, is a Spanish actress.-Biography:...
) still resides in a grand villa in the village.
At first Larry manages to convince Veronica to allow the concert to be held at the local amphitheatre, where famous pianist Narcisco Ortega (Virgile Bramly) would play her late great spouse's music, 'chosen by her'. Though soon things start to go awry, as his long lost daughter Frankie (Jena Malone
Jena Malone
Jena Malone is an American actress and musician who has appeared on television, in films, and on Broadway. She made her movie debut with the film Bastard Out of Carolina , and has appeared in films including Contact , Stepmom , Donnie Darko , Saved! , Into the Wild , and Sucker Punch .Malone is...
) arrives out of the blue, looking for him, another social-climber, Sebastian Burrows (Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Richard Bonneville Williams, known professionally as Hugh Bonneville , is an English stage, film, television and radio actor.-Education:...
), latches on to the project convincing Veronica to give it to him and Larry's girlfriend grows suspicious of his relationship with the composer's former muse, Helena (Emmanuelle Seigner
Emmanuelle Seigner
Emmanuelle Seigner is a French actress, former fashion model, and singer, best known as the wife of Academy Award winning director Roman Polanski, and for her roles in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly , and Frantic...
), who leads a secluded life on the island. As the movie progresses several sub plots reveal a variety of estrangements between various key characters, and gradually they are healed amidst the rising melodrama surrounding the concert
Cast
- Stanley TucciStanley TucciStanley Tucci is an American actor, writer, film producer and film director. He has been nominated for several notable film awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance in The Lovely Bones...
- Larry - Rhys IfansRhys IfansRhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
- Dickie - Hugh BonnevilleHugh BonnevilleHugh Richard Bonneville Williams, known professionally as Hugh Bonneville , is an English stage, film, television and radio actor.-Education:...
- Sebastian Burrows - Jena MaloneJena MaloneJena Malone is an American actress and musician who has appeared on television, in films, and on Broadway. She made her movie debut with the film Bastard Out of Carolina , and has appeared in films including Contact , Stepmom , Donnie Darko , Saved! , Into the Wild , and Sucker Punch .Malone is...
- Frankie - Jessica Hynes- Miranda (as Jessica Stevenson)
- Karl JohnsonKarl JohnsonKarl Johnson is a Welsh actor, notable for acting on stage, film and television. He is the recipient of an honorary doctorate from Birmingham City University. His most notable role to date was the title role in Derek Jarman's 1993 film Wittgenstein...
- Erico - Virgile Bramly - Narcisco Ortega
- Marisa ParedesMarisa ParedesMaría Luisa Paredes Bartolomé, , better known in show business as Marisa Paredes, is a Spanish actress.-Biography:...
- Veronica - Emmanuelle SeignerEmmanuelle SeignerEmmanuelle Seigner is a French actress, former fashion model, and singer, best known as the wife of Academy Award winning director Roman Polanski, and for her roles in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly , and Frantic...
- Helena
Production
The film has been shot entire on location at MallorcaMallorca
Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...
(Majorca) island in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
and part of the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
, in Spain, in fact the Spanish version of the film is titled 'Mallorca's Song'
Credits
- Casting Director - Karen Lindsay Stewart
- Production Designer - John StevensonJohn Stevenson-Military:*John Dunlap Stevenson, Union Civil War general*John D. Stevenson *John H. Stevenson , member of the American Navy during the American Civil War and the Spanish-American War-Politicians:...
- Costume designer - Julian DayJulian dayJulian day is used in the Julian date system of time measurement for scientific use by the astronomy community, presenting the interval of time in days and fractions of a day since January 1, 4713 BC Greenwich noon...
- Production Company - BBC FilmsBBC FilmsBBC Films is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including An Education, StreetDance 3D, Fish Tank, Stage Beauty, A Cock and Bull Story, Nativity! and Match Point.It aims to make strong British films with...
- Domestic Video Distributor - Anchor Bay Entertainment -
External links
- Four Last Songs at Rottentomatoes