174. Bel Canto; movie review

BEL CANTO
Cert 15
101 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong violence

Let's just be clear, Julianne Moore does not sing in Bel Canto.
Well, not so that we could hear. Apparently, to make her lip-synching look realistic, she did warble away to the film crew but it was far from world-class opera standard.
I remark upon this because I wouldn't have put it past the excellent Moore to have had decades of lessons before taking on this role.
She plays a star who has been hired to sing at a swanky reception at a palace in a volatile unnamed South American country.
From the outset, she is unhappy with the gig because of the fear that she will be caught up in the civil unrest between rebels and an unpopular government's military forces.
Her apprehension is quickly justified when gun-toting rebels burst into the palace, incorrectly believing the soiree is being attended by the country's president.
Thus, they don't have what they want but their routes to escape are now cut off and so, to save face, they take the men in the palace hostage, along with the singer who they see as a bargaining chip.
The movie's emphasis then falls upon the dynamic inside a drawn-out siege.
Ken Watanabe stars as a Japanese businessman who has conned the locals into thinking he will build a factory just so they will lay on a concert by his favourite singer.
He tries to be one of the voices of reason as the rebels become agitated.
Paul Weitz's film explores the handling of a hostage crisis from both sides and the hopes and fears of both sides.
Interestingly, it begins with the captives fearing for their lives and progresses into the captors fearing for theirs.
In between, there is love, football, signing and a dab of brutality.
As Mrs W said: "There are some really daft bits but on the whole I enjoyed it."

Reasons to watch: The dynamic between captors and captives
Reasons to avoid: Julianne Moore's lip-synching

Laughs: One 
Jumps: One
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? There were 193 kidnapped foreign nationals in March and April 2017. 72% of them were kidnapped in Africa, 10% in the Americas, 10% in the Middle East, 6% in Asia and the Pacific and 2% in Europe. 

The final word. Paul Weitz: "It was a specific decision to ask (opera singer) Renée (Fleming) to do the voice of the character. What I was hoping for was some sort of alchemy. With actors, you’re always hoping to get out of their way to help them find their character. I knew that if I got out of the way of Julianne and Renée, that’s what would happen."

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