Ted Braun’s classical-music docu-feature, suitable for all ages (a virtue of the tuxedo-and-instruments genre that can never be underestimated) shows the rock-star status of Venezuela’s Gustavo Dudamel, a conductor and concertmaster associated with the Simon Boliver Orchestra of Venezuela, as well as the country’s renown youth orchestra.
Born in 1981, Dudamel reached the heights of the classical world after being uplifted at a young, at-risk age by the power of music and the government’s cultural-outreach programs. In adulthood, he strives to do the same for worshipful kids. Meanwhile, however, Venezuela falls into political disarray and rioting following the death of strongman leader Hugo Chavez. When Dudamel speaks out against the violence (having been criticized for staying too long above the fray), he finds the government canceling his concert tours; ultimately he and his wife go into exile.
Still performing in venues such as Chile, Mexico, Los Angeles, Germany, and Austria, Gustavo reconnects with fellow Venezuelans whose careers (if not politics) have taken them all over the world, in a sort of classical diaspora. The early narrative of mounting strife in the streets of Caracas, combined with Dudamel’s concert-hall instructions to musicians (bringing fresh interpretations to nuances of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Prokofiev's “Romeo and Juliet” and other standards) gives the film a terrific narrative forward momentum.
Things slow down in the second half, with the hero’s long (and unresolved) exile from Venezuela, though dramatic closure, of sorts, takes place with Dudamel presiding over a musical tribute to his beloved mentor, Jose Antonio Abreu Anselmi, Venezuela’s Minister of Culture and a pianist and conductor who died in 2018.
The appeal of classical music library shelves is obvious, but the pan-Hispanic audience is also a strong one for these journeys with a maestro through the tricky movements of both the string sections and authoritarian socialism. Strongly recommended for universities with music majors and academic libraries in conservatories.