The Silence Before Bach (Die Stille vor Bach) (2007)

[font=Century Gothic]"The Silence Before Bach" is a partially successful attempt at showing the journey that the music of Johann Sebastian Bach(1685-1750) has made from the 18th century to the present day, as displayed in a series of vignettes starting and ending with a player piano. In fact, there are a wide variety of musical instruments used in this film including a harpsichord(which I've always liked the sound of), a kickass organ, a wind instrument, a harmonica and cellos played on a subway train. [/font] [font=Century Gothic]The journey started with Bach working as a cantor in a church in Leipzig, so it may not be a surprise that the one continuing thread throughout is the importance of religion in his work, even in this thankfully more secular age. For example, one character drives a truck cab decorated with Virgin Mary's on the side. While seamless transitions happen throughout, a graceful segue from one definition of passion to another is particularly of interest. But the one element missing is the creative spark. And if you say that it is divine, I will scream.[/font]