Living Like the Rest of Us

Secret

July 2007 •Chinese

Ye Xiang Lun, a talented piano player is a new student at the prestigious Tamkang School. On his first day, he meets Lu Xiao Yu, a pretty girl playing a mysterious piece of music.

The Concert

May 1954 •

Celebrating the end of World War II and liberation of their city, a group of students is set on holding a cultural evening. They invite Ema, a reclusive piano teacher from the same building, to play for them. Ema declines, but starts reminscing back on her own life and the historical events that have seemingly overshadowed it.

Appointment in Bray

December 1971 •French

In 1917, the First World War is raging. Julien is from Luxemburg, so instead of having to go to war he studies piano in Paris. One day his friend Jacques, also a musician and now a fighter pilot on the front, invites him to spend a few days in his family's empty house in Bray. The housekeeper, a beautiful stoic woman lets Julien in, but his friend is late and he is obliged to wait. In the meantime, he starts reminiscing of the pre-war days spent with his friend and Jacques' girlfriend Odile.

The Competition

December 1980 •English

The movie centers on a piano competition whose winner is assured of success. It is Paul's last chance to compete, but newcomer Heidi may be a better pianist. Can romance be far away? Will she take a dive despite the pressure to win from her teacher, Greta, or will she condemn Paul to obscurity?

Curtain Call

December 1998 •English

A bachelor afraid of marriage angers his long-time girlfriend by buying a splendid townhouse just for himself, only to find it haunted by the ghosts of a famous theatrical couple, who teach him about love and commitment.

The Seventh Veil

October 1945 •English

A concert pianist with amnesia fights to regain her memory.

The Power of Silence

November 2017 •Catalan

Prades, France, 1940s. The exiled Catalan cellist Pau Casals decides not to perform any more in public until the fall of the dictatorship that oppresses Spain. Pierre, a young Frenchman studying with Casals, tries to convince him to celebrate an extraordinary concert as a tribute to freedom.

The Child Prodigy

May 2010 •French

On the keyboard, the young hands fly rapidly and the melody rises. For the child, nothing is easier; he hears the sounds in his head. These hands belong to 6 years old André Mathieu. He won his audiences and fired up concerts halls in London, New York, Paris and around the world. Adulated, hailed, praised, the child prodigy seemed to have everything to succeed. From the top of his vertiginous successes, to depths of torment, the life of the "Little Canadian Mozart" blends into his music. A romantic and passionate composer wishing for happiness, his story is nevertheless played on tragic notes.

Jack Paradise (Les nuits de Montréal)

February 2004 •French

The Changeling

March 1980 •English

After a tragic event happens, composer John Russell moves to Seattle to try to overcome it and build a new and peaceful life in a lonely big house that has been uninhabited for many years. But, soon after, the obscure history of such an old mansion and his own past begin to haunt him.

Metal Detector Maniac

September 2021 •English

Two songwriters investigate a local weirdo.

A Fine Mess

August 1986 •English

Two friends discover a plot to fix a horse race and try to capitalize on it, but soon have to deal with the two men who fixed it, the police investigating it, and the mob boss whose amorous wife is mixed up in it.

Leading Lizzie Astray

November 1914 •English

A city slicker tries to woo a country girl while her boyfriend fixes his tire.

Michel Petrucciani

May 2011 •English

A documentary on the late French jazz pianist.

Simon Shaheen: A Musical Journey

October 2019 •English

A Musical Journey is an intimate portrait of the Palestinian oud and violin virtuoso Simon Shaheen and his influential career as composer, performer and educator. Born into a musical family and educated at the Academy of Music in Jerusalem, Shaheen arrived in America in 1981 to a landscape where traditional Arab music was little known. His passion for and commitment to sharing the music’s complexities come to life as he teaches and performs in vibrant musical performances that energize the film.

Earl Carroll Vanities

April 1945 •English

Broadway producer Earl Carroll was a Ziegfeld-like entrepreneur who staged lavish revues featuring attractive young ladies. Carroll's annual "Vanities" provided story material for three Hollywood films: Murder at the Vanities (34), A Night at Earl Carroll's (40) and Earl Carroll Vanities (45). This last film was produced by Republic Pictures, a bread-and-butter studio specializing in Westerns and serials; Republic had made musicals before, but few of them were expensive enough to allow for lavish production numbers. Earl Carroll Vanities is likewise rather threadbare, though some of the individual musical highlights aren't bad. The plot, such as it is, concerns financially strapped nightclub owner Eve Arden, who finagles Earl Carroll into staging one of his revues at her club.

Bach pour tous

June 2023 •French

A musical journey in the footsteps of conductor Michel Brun, an atypical character, an atheist, who nevertheless plays sacred music, and who devotes his life to Johann Sebastian Bach. With the musicians of the Ensemble Baroque de Toulouse.

Valentina Lisitsa: Live at the Royal Albert Hall

August 2012 •English

This Royal Albert Hall Concert, presented now on DVD, was also available online through live streaming. It is difficult to remember the last time any concert gave me so much pleasure and insight, and sent my soul soaring to such heights of joy. So many beloved piano pieces, so magnificently performed! Valentina has scaled the heights of technique, knocking off 'impossible' Liszt pieces like a stroll in the park. She melds with the piano with such assured ease that she can milk every piece for musical content and subtlety, reminding us of the great Hoffman, who also loved to play each piece a little differently every time, tapping deeply into the inexhaustible potential of a great composition, perpetually finding fresh ideas and magnificent new interpretations.

Piano for Quitters

January 1997 •English

Piano for Quitters is designed for anyone and everyone who wants a practical understanding of chords and harmony. The 10 lessons will teach you to play great sounding chord progressions at surprisingly advanced levels. Whether you have had years of piano lessons or none at all, we highly recommend Piano for Quitters as a practical foundation for the entire series. These lessons are not repeated in the three volume sequel. Piano for Quitters covers: The simple building blocks of all chords and harmony — without technical terms — real chords and real chord symbols, not simplified substitutes. A practical analysis of music and how it relates to learning to play the piano. Chords placed in musical families — ten chord progressions which you will be using for the rest of your life. Step by step instruction in using chords and harmony in creating music. Techniques to improve left-hand, right-hand and hands-together playing.