Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Ron Howard best known for 1995’s Apollo 13 and 2001’s A Beautiful Mind, Pavarotti is a love letter of a documentary to the legendary and larger-than-life opera singer and tenor Luciano Pavarotti, and the film does an extraordinary job of capturing the truly remarkable life story of one of the greatest voices whose persona captivated the world. It follows in the traditional mold of a documentary by telling his story through photographs, archival footage, actual concert performances, and contemporary interviews with his family and colleagues. The true magic of the deeply fascinating documentary is the subject who we first meet as a young man from a working-class family living in Modena, Italy with the improbable dream of becoming a world-class opera singer. The audience does get a glimpse of his sometimes complicated personal life, especially as it relates to his love for beautiful women, who always adored his daughters even at his most difficult points in his life. We get to witness the rise of Pavarotti as he starts his career performing in a small Italian opera company and eventually become a major recording artist who did the unthinkable for opera stars by primarily giving concerts with a selection of songs from famous operas. The largely unseen personal archival footage shows a big-hearted giant of a man who exuded natural charisma and generosity while always enjoying the good things in life, including fine wine and Italian food. His desire to help those in need throughout the world began in earnest after he teamed up with fellow famous tenors Plácido Domingo and José Carreras, establishing what would be known as The Three Tenors. The documentary gives particularly interesting insight into the relationship between the equally charismatic Three Tenors by interviewing both Domingo and Carreras who beautifully reflect on the legacy of their dear friend Pavarotti. Overall, I found it to be one of the more engrossing documentaries that I have seen in recent memory, and I would definitely recommend it to anybody who enjoys music even if you are not a fan of opera, or really anybody who enjoys a good documentary about a remarkable person such as Luciano Pavarotti.
KEITH on Reels 