Imposed Piece (Brecht Vanhoenacker, 2017): Belgium

Reviewed by Thomas J Miller.  Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, 2018.

 

An “Imposed Piece” is a musical work presented to competitors in a world class music competition.  In Brent Vanhoenacker’s, Imposed Piece, we meet several of the 12 finalists in the Queen Elisabeth Competition, held in Belgium annually. These young finalists represent virtuoso talent from around the world.

In an age of media dependency, these musicians must surrender all electronic connection to the outside world and practice the assigned concerto and imposed piece, day and night, for the eight days they are given to master the works.  The film elegantly shows the passion and commitment these musicians possess and must maintain to enter the final round of the competition.  Tension and fear turns to certainty of purpose, as the final days draw near.  They are at the competition to win and whatever the outcome, there is a peace that they have achieved this elite position of ranking in the world of their peers.

The first and last name of one of the contestants, Jiyoon Lee, is transposed throughout the rehearsal period, in interviews and in the final moments before the winner of the competition is announced.  This seemingly small error to the press and judges is an important punctuation mark in the film.

The film is a beautiful collection of practice sessions and personal interviews that give a rare glimpse into the hearts of these extreme talents.  The musical choices for the film build to a crescendo of excitement in the final scenes of the film.


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