Synopsis
A man searching for his childhood best friend — a Polish violin prodigy orphaned in the Holocaust — who vanished decades before on the night of his first public performance.
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Cast
- Tim RothMartin
- Clive OwenDovidl
- Catherine McCormackHelen
- Eddie IzzardRadio Presenter
- Saul RubinekFeinman
- Jonah Hauer-KingDovidl 17-23
- Gerran HowellMartin 17-21
- Luke DoyleDovidl 9-13
- Misha HandleyMartin 9-13
- Stanley TownsendGilbert
Recommendations
- 80
Los Angeles Times
It’s a profound, affecting and beautifully told chronicle of faith, family, obsession and the language of music. - 75
Original-Cin
The pieces are there for a profound piece of work, and The Song of Names’ high points are worth the occasional narrative slog. - 75
RogerEbert.com
Literate, sober, soulful, and considered as it is, the movie is also a little overly scrupulous in its tastefulness. - 63
Movie Nation
The Song of Names is a more interesting than fascinating mystery than it is a profound statement on memory, loss, tragedy and faith — which was plainly its aim. The conflict is more talked about than keenly felt, the climax something of an over-the-top anti-climax. - 50
The Hollywood Reporter
A somewhat claggy, uneven work with stiff performances from the leads, both of whom seem to be sleep-talking lines as if they learned them in Yiddish first. - 50
The A.V. Club
What he discovers is powerfully moving, but every step of his journey — and of the copious flashbacks that fill in various blanks — tests the viewer’s patience. It’s like eating an entire box of stale cereal to get to the prize. - 50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Mainly, this movie chatters when it should sing. - 50
Slant Magazine
In the end, the film is unable to bridge the gap between the emotions it elicits and the messages it imparts.
