Music from the Inside Out.

Music from the Inside Out. (DVD from Emerging Pictures, 2004, 90 minutes.)

"Music, n. 1. An art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color. 2. The tones or sounds employed, occurring in single line (melody) or multiple lines (harmony), and sounded or to be sounded by one or more voices or instruments, or both. 3. Musical work or compositions for singing or playing. 4. The written or printed score of a musical composition. 5. Such scores collectively. 6. Any sweet, pleasing, or harmonious sounds or sound. 7. Appreciation of or responsiveness to musical sounds or harmonies."--Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1999.

It's easy to get a dictionary definition of "music," but it really isn't so easy to explain why music affects people on so a personal level and why people react so differently to various types of music. That's why documentary filmmaker Daniel Anker ("Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust," "Scottsboro: An American Tragedy") set out to make "Music from the Inside Out" in 2004. He wanted to get inside the meaning of music, to bring it down to a personal level; and to do so he went to those folks who know music inside out--some of the best professional musicians in the world, people who have worked in the music field all their lives. In this case, he spoke to the 105 members of the renowned Philadelphia Orchestra.

Naturally, these men and women have devoted most of their lives largely to classical repertoire, yet many of them share with us their love for a variety of other musical genres, too, covering everything from folk to jazz to bluegrass. The documentary won a number of nominations and prizes when it was released, but the question is whether it answers the fundamental question, What is music? Like it or not, the film, subtitled "A Musical Essay," raises more questions than it answers, and it's the musical journey more than the final destination that pulls us along.

I suppose trying to define music and its impact on people is like trying to hold smoke in your hands. Yet, with enough points of view, we do begin to get a general feeling for the subject. When director Anker asks his subjects "What is music?," it's clear they're not sure exactly how to answer. Everyone relates to sound differently, and one of the first interviewees responds saying it is an intense personal experience, and that it's the performer's job to relate this experience through "intense personal expression." Fair enough, if pretty vague.

One of the first things the film does, and perhaps its greatest achievement, is to humanize each of the Philadelphia players. They are no longer a mass of impersonal instruments and tuxedos playing music; they are individuals, with separate minds and souls, most of them quite down-to-earth as opposed to the stuffed shirts one can mistakenly associate with classical musicians. In their off time, one of them plays trombone in a Latin band, calling it "dancing with a horn"; two of the violinists play in a bluegrass band, and so on. It's comforting to know that most of these folks have no more idea why they love music than you or I do, but they certainly love it in all its forms.

One woman in the orchestra says she was drawn to music because she was never all that articulate with words. Music, she says, gives her a better sense of self-expression, a new way of speaking. Another person explains that in music you're free to experience the divine, another world. In addition to the Philadelphia members, we hear from singing waiters, a fellow who performs on drinking glasses, and yet another guy who plays Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" on the accordion. The members of the orchestra seem almost as appreciative of these alternative performers as they are of the greatest virtuosi.

The director follows the orchestra on tours of Europe and Asia, where they and we come away impressed by the crosscurrents of music from differing cultures and ethnicities. Music transcends national boundaries, being one of the few things all people share and enjoy.

First violinist David Kim tells us that the movie "Jerry Maguire," of all things, had a big impact on the direction of musical career. Above all, though, it is the performers' enthusiasm for music that helps sell the idea. Watching them perform for children is probably the greatest joy in the film. The children have no preconceptions about music, no prejudices or biases for or against any particular genre; they simply know what they like and appear to love it all.

The film's weakness, however, besides tackling a topic so big and diverse as music, is that it's divided almost equally between musical excerpts and pure talk. I have to admit I liked the music most, running high to Beethoven, Brahms, and Stravinsky, but there is really not enough of it in a ninety-minute documentary to be very satisfying; and the talk, while sometimes fascinating, is not always as enlightening as one might like.

Still, the movie is a noble experiment, and "Music From the Inside Out" is worth watching by anyone with a serious interest in the subject. The musicians, for example, provide a few intriguing insights and analogies about music. One performer compares music to motorcycle riding, a second to the sounds of nature, a third to the rhythms of silence, and yet another to the colors of the world. While, surely, music can be aural literature, it is always changing, always new. It is that very freshness that makes the documentary and the music itself so refreshing.

Video: The director shot the documentary digitally, and it shows. Understandably, shooting digitally is cheaper than using film, but it comes with its inherent flaws. The picture quality in this 1.78:1-ratio movie is very smooth, but it is also somewhat glassy, bland, and blurry, with the occasional shimmering line. Black levels are quite deep, perhaps too deep at times, making for a fairly dark image. Faces are rather dark, too, and sometimes tend to pinkish and yellowish hues. None of this matters much in a documentary, mind you; it is a documentary, after all, and it looks a lot better than most documentaries. Just don't expect "Lawrence of Arabia."

Audio: For a movie about music that almost demands the finest audio reproduction, it seems a shame that the sound is rendered only in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. Oh, well. Half the time it's about people talking, so I suppose it doesn't matter as much as I say. Besides, it's a documentary, not a Hollywood blockbuster. If you like the musical excerpts you hear in the film, you can always listen to them in their entirety via CD. Anyway, the sound is fine for what it is. Voices are clear and always intelligible, and the music doesn't sound so bad, either, if a little constricted in breadth and scope.

Extras: Like, what did you expect--a movie to go along with the documentary? You get the feature doc, a menu screen, 26 chapter selections (but no insert), and a theatrical trailer.

Parting Thoughts: As I say, "Music From the Inside Out" gets us no closer to the definitive nature of music than when we started, but the ninety-minute musical journey does help to reinforce our own feelings about the subject and maybe brings out an idea or two we hadn't thought of before. Most important, though, is the sheer joy in musical sounds we come to share with the musicians. If so many people from all over the world for so many years have enjoyed whatever it is we call "music," there must be something to it. As one musician puts it, you can't define great music or great musicianship, but you know it when you hear it. Very true, and if you'll excuse me, I'm off to listen again to the opening movement of the Brahms First Symphony. It may or may not be great music, but I know what I like. (This review originally published at www.dvdtown.com, 08/30/06. Reprinted by permission.)