The Silence Before Bach

(Die Stille vor Bach, Pere Portabella, Spain 2007, 102 min., 35mm, Spanish and German w/subtitles)

12 Notes on Film: Classical. The Silence Before Bach was legendary Spanish director Pere Portabella’s first feature in eighteen years, and it is a true wonder. “Bach’s music is the only thing that reminds us the world is not a failure,” says a character in the film. Portabella takes Bach’s music on the road, both literally (two Spanish truck drivers discuss its fine points; a group of several dozen young cellists play rapturous Bach on a subway car they appear to have taken over) and otherwise (as Portabella re-creates the composer’s life—sort of; the film opens with a player piano moving of seemingly its own accord through a bare art gallery, dancing a pas de deux with Portabella’s camera). The music is as glorious as the cinematic art; the film’s meanings, open and perhaps even profound.

Organized in collaboration with Bop Shop Records.