Song for Marion - Blu-ray

Movie: There is little that can bring a smile to the face of pensioner Arthur (Terence Stamp). Only his wife Marion (Vanessa Redgrave) seems to make the grumpy old man truly happy. But this happiness will not last. For Marion has lost her difficult battle against cancer and will not have long to live. She wants to spend her last weeks with her two great loves: with Arthur and with music. Marion really blossoms while singing in the community choir, especially since the young choir director Elisabeth (Gemma Arterton) sometimes rehearses rock and pop songs with her elderly singers. She even wants to take part in a singing competition with her choir. Not a good idea, thinks Arthur, who in any case thinks that the rehearsals are much too strenuous for his Marion. When she actually collapses one day after singing, the old man is certain: his wife will not waste her last strength on such an embarrassing procedure as singing. But as stubborn as Arthur is, he simply can't refuse his Marion anything. And indeed, with a poignant audition, the choir qualifies for the talent contest. But then fate strikes with full force and Arthur threatens to lose all grip on life...

Older people who blossom again through music has been a very popular motif in feature films and documentaries at least since the wonderful documentary Young@Heart. Song for Marion by Paul Andrew Williams also uses this not exactly new basic idea. In general, the drama is not exactly brimming with originality. The grumpy pensioner, the open-minded young choir director, the difficult father-son relationship, all these are more than familiar set pieces that could have easily culminated in a clichéd kitsch massacre. But that's not what Song for Marion has become. Quite the opposite. Williams has directed a very tender film that is at times amusing, at other times extremely moving.

Naturally, the two key scenes in particular are extremely manipulative. But you have to have a heart of stone not to be moved to tears when Terence Stamp sings Billy Joel's Lullaby. Anyway, the sensitively acting actors contribute a considerable part to the fact that the film is heartwarming and beautiful and just not cheesy. Besides the wonderful Terence Stamp, Bond girl Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters) is particularly enchanting, making an extremely sympathetic character out of a character that is in itself a bit of a template. So it becomes understandable and comprehensible for everyone that she can succeed in luring even such a grumpy hermit like Arthur out of his reserve and open him up for life again.

The many side characters that make up the pensioner choir OAP`Z (Old Age Pensioners) are charmingly drawn, but overall remain a bit too much in the background to really leave a lasting impression. This is a pity, because the scenes in which Elizabeth rehearses with the choir show what potential these characters could have had. However, the film doesn't primarily tell the story of the OAP`Z, but of Arthur and his Song for Marion. And therefore this small weak point can be safely ignored.

Because the bottom line is that Song for Marion is a wonderful film despite some minor hangs, an extremely powerful drama despite its quiet staging, which showers the viewer with a lot of warmth and hits the heart with full emotional force in at least two places. And for that, of course, there can only be one rating: Absolutely worth seeing!

Image + Sound: The Blu-ray allows the film to shine in an adequate audiovisual realization. Since Song for Marion is a rather quiet drama, the DTS-HD Master Audio mix is also rather restrained. However, the beautiful music and even the dialogue sound very powerful and even minor ambient noises provide an appealing atmosphere. The picture on the disc is very clean, the colors rich and warm and the image sharpness is on a very high level. There's really nothing to fault about that. Good!

Extras: The bonus offerings begin with a very amusing, but also insightful audio commentary by director Paul Andrew Williams and producer Ken Marshall. After Williams welcomes the four viewers watching the film with commentary, the two men chat in a relaxed atmosphere about filming, casting or song selection. The only criticism of the commentary is that it is offered to German viewers without subtitle options, which is why only those interested with a good command of English can enjoy this bonus feature.

Continues with a German-language promo making of (approx. 4 mins), interviews with Terence Stamp (approx. 6 mins), Gemma Arterton (approx. 6 mins), Vanessa Redgrave (approx. 4 mins) and director Williams (approx. 2 mins) and the trailer for the film. Some deleted scenes (approx. 9 min.), as well as funny unreleased scenes (approx. 4 min.) round out the additional offerings.

Conclusion: Song for Marion is a moving, very quiet and beautiful film that can easily make up for a few minor dramaturgical hangs with great actors, lots of emotional warmth and a charmingly sad story. If you like films like Dustin Hoffman's Quartet or the wonderful documentary Young@Heart, you can't miss this disc. Absolutely recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp