THE 'SOUND' OF LIFE ALL AROUND US.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic THOMAS RIEDELSHEIMER'S impressionistic im·pres·sion·is·tic adj. 1. Of, relating to, or practicing impressionism. 2. Of, relating to, or predicated on impression as opposed to reason or fact: impressionistic memories of early childhood. documentary, ``Touch the Sound,'' focuses on Evelyn Glennie Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, DBE (born July 19 1965 in Aberdeen) is a Scottish virtuoso percussionist. She was the first full-time solo professional percussionist in 20th century western society. , an ebullient Grammy-winning classical percussionist who also happens to be deaf. Glennie lost her hearing gradually, noticing the deficiency when she was 8. At that time, she wanted to be a pianist, but, later, acting on a high-school teacher's advice, she switched to percussion percussion /per·cus·sion/ (per-kush´un) the act of striking a part with short, sharp blows as an aid in diagnosing the condition of the underlying parts by the sound obtained. . It changed her life. Like Riedelsheimer's last movie, ``Rivers and Tides,'' ``Touch the Sound'' revels Not to be confused with Revel. A revel is a type of celebration or festival, involving dancing, costumes, and general merrymaking. John Langstaff founded the 'Revels in the elusive. ``Rivers'' centered on a sculptor who created organic art; here, his subject is a charismatic woman who lives her life governed by sound, more specifically, her ability to feel aural aural /au·ral/ (aw´r'l) 1. auditory (1). 2. pertaining to an aura. au·ral 1 adj. Relating to or perceived by the ear. sensations - whatever the volume - as they vibrate through her body. ``Hearing is a form of touch,'' Glennie says. ``I hear it through the body, by opening myself up. Sometimes it almost hits you in the face.'' Riedelsheimer succeeds in showing us Glennie's world as she feels it. There are several performance sequences in the movie, including what amounts to the spine of the film, an improvisational concert of sorts featuring Glennie and avant-garde composer Fred Firth firth or frith, Scottish term applied to an arm of the sea, usually an estuary or strait. For Firth of Clyde, see Clyde; for Firth of Forth, see Forth. in an abandoned warehouse. There, Glennie uses her environment to create sound, just as she does ``playing'' scattered objects on the family farm in Scotland or using chopsticks, dishes and glasses to perform in a restaurant in Japan. It's all part of a convincing argument put forward by both subject and filmmaker that human beings are sound. We have are own unique rhythms and produce our own peculiar noises. Glennie's hearing loss forced her to consciously pay attention to these sounds. Riedelsheimer's film succeeds in compelling his audience to do just the same, making ``Touch the Sound'' a stirring celebration of the music that surrounds us daily. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com TOUCH THE SOUND - Three stars (Not rated: nothing objectionable) Starring: Evelyn Glennie. Director: Thomas Riedelsheimer. Running time: 1 hr. 39 min. Playing: Landmark's Nuart Theater in West Los Angeles
In a nutshell nut·shell n. The shell enclosing the meat of a nut. Idiom: in a nutshell In a few words; concisely: Just give me the facts in a nutshell. Adv. 1. : Documentary about a Grammy-winning deaf classical percussionist celebrates the everyday music that surrounds us. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Evelyn Glennie, a Grammy-winning classical percussionist who began going deaf at the age of 8, is the focus of the documentary ``Touch the Sound.'' |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion