“Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould”‏

by richibi

“Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould“ is,

to my mind, one of the best films Canada has

had to offer, a study of the musical giant which

is probing, perceptive, and profoundly revealing,

and the impersonator, Colm Feore, is impeccable,

superlative, rendering the mystery of flights of

inspiration vivid and comprehensible, he is,

seamlessly and completely convincingly,

Glenn Gould     

 

Glenn Gould is of course identified with his

book-end interpretations, his first release and

his last release of the Goldberg Variations,

the interval of not quite thirty years for him to

further appraise these epic pieces, both issues

are considered monumental, defining cultural

moments, both eclipse, have eclipsed, any

other, even celebrated, performance

 

the reference in the film’s title is to these  

Goldberg Variations, of course, composed

of thirty variations on an opening “aria”,

which is repeated as a “coda”, an ending,

a musical last word, for a total of 32

segments

 

but I submit that the place of Beethoven’s own

“32 Variations in C minor On An Original Theme“

could not possibly have been overlooked in

the movie’s title, considering especially the

inclusion of that specific number, despite,

incidentally, the missing hyphen, an infelicitous,

I think, literary licence 

 

the “Thirty Two Short Films“ are themselves,

not incidentally, a set of 32 filmic, note, 

variations, on the subject, in this instance, 

of the player himself, Glenn Gould

 

may his star shine bright forever    

 

 

Richard