Music of the Heart (1999)

Director:

Wes Craven

Writer (WGA):

Pamela Gray (written by)

Release Date:

29 October 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

She gave them a gift they could never imagine. They gave the system a fight it would never forget.

Plot:

Story of a schoolteacher's struggle to teach violin to inner-city Harlem kids.

Plot Keywords:

Violin | School | Music Rehearsal | Public School | Dog

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Meryl Streep	...	Roberta Guaspari
Cloris Leachman	...	Assunta Guaspari
Henry Dinhofer	...	Lexi at 5
Michael Angarano	...	Nick at 7
Robert Ari	...	Supervisor
Aidan Quinn	...	Brian Turner
Teddy Coluca	...	Taxi Driver
Angela Bassett	...	Principal Janet Williams
Josh Pais	...	Dennis Rausch
Barbara Gonzalez	...	Janet's Secretary
Jade Yorker	...	DeSean at 11
Victoria Gómez	...	Lucy at 10 (as Victoria Gomez)
Justin Pierre Edmund	...	Bongo Kid
Justin 'DJ' Spaulding	...	Naeem Adisa at 9 (as Justin Spaulding)
Zoe Sternbach-Taubman	...	Guadalupe at 9

Also Known As:

50 Violins (USA) (working title)
Fiddlefest (USA) (working title)
Music of My Heart (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief mild language and sensuality.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | Taiwan:GP | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:I | Netherlands:AL | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Craven-Maddalena Films

Trivia:

Director Wes Craven's first non-horror/thriller film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In one of the classroom scenes early in the movie, Streep is shown wearing boots; when the camera comes back to her later in the same scene, she's wearing shoes instead.

Quotes:

Roberta Guaspari: [to her students right before a big concert] I want you all to take a second and just... breathe. Deep breaths. Now listen to me. I want you all to play from your heart. Forget about the audience, watch me, you'll do just fine. Just play from here.
[puts hand over her heart]
Roberta Guaspari: Okay?

Movie Connections:

Featured in AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Meryl Streep (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Con Sandunga

An adequate "feel-good" movie.

This film is based on the true story of Roberta Guaspari, a music teacher in New York. When the movie opens, she has recently moved herself and her two sons in with her mother, after her marriage fails. Roberta (Meryl Streep) takes her limited teaching experience and pitches a violin class to a skeptical principal (Angela Bassett). After proving how well she's taught her young sons the instrument, Roberta is given a chance. It is slow going at first, as Roberta has to deal with inattentive students, and disapproving parents and fellow teachers. One African-American parent snaps that her son has better things to do than learn "dead white men's music", even though her son lights up while he's taking his music lessons. The violin program grows so much in popularity that kids have to enter a lottery to get a chance to get into it. When the program is cut due to the insensitive school system, Roberta fights back. Film hits the message home that music education is important, but it keeps repeating it over and over. The audience got the point, already! Streep does portray a likeable underdog, though, and the love she has for the students is always apparent, even when she's snapping at them. The kids are adorable. Don't be fooled, however, by how the trailers build up Gloria Estefan's participation in the movie. She's okay, but her role is very small. Angela Bassett is effective, as usual.