Chevalier review - a less than extraordinary film about an extraordinary man

★★ CHEVALIER A less than extraordinary film about an extraordinary man

Paper-thin treatment of the incredible life of Joseph Bologne

This frothy bio-fantasy about the 18th century composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges and top tunesmith to Marie Antoinette at the French court, could have been a powerful and revealing shout-out to a woefully under-appreciated composer.

Directed by Stephen Williams with a screenplay by Stefani Robinson, it’s more like Bridgerton Goes to the French Revolution, an absurd bouillabaisse of melodrama and characters who may be elegantly dressed but are uniformly paper-thin.

Handel for the King, Le Concert Spirituel, Niquet, Wigmore Hall at St James's Spanish Place review - post-coronation celebrations

★★★★ HANDEL FOR THE KING French ensemble plays for Charles III

'Zadok the Priest' becomes a 'smooth classic' in a good way, amidst other royal blazes

Union Jacks could be stowed away, and EU ones figuratively, furtively flourished: this was a concert of celebratory music for a Hanoverian king by a Saxon composer, by then recently become a British citizen, performed by a French ensemble in a Roman Catholic church which once served the Spanish Embassy. The present King, having already made a start repairing Britain’s damaged reputation on the continent by speaking German in Berlin, surely approved.

Hunting legendary treasure with ballet's Indiana Jones - Pierre Lacotte 1932-2023

PIERRE LACOTTE 1932-2023 Hunting legendary treasure with ballet's Indiana Jones

The prolific recreator of early ballets has died, leaving a lively argument

As any archaeologist knows, digging up a sarcophagus is a nailbiting business. How small are the chances that inside the shredded linen wrappings will lie a recognisable body with some vestiges of its former life upon it?

Enough DNA and bone to reconstruct the person's age, state of health, status – perhaps even enough detail on the face to bring the dead features back to life and a guess at personality? Properly mummified, a human body can yield an extraordinary amount of living information after thousands of years. But ballets vanish far quicker.

Classical CDs: Infernal dances, hammered dulcimer and musical taxidermy

CLASSICAL CDS: Infernal dances, hammered dulcimer and musical taxidermy

French and Welsh songs, Russian ballet and a musical cactus

 

Boulanger songsNadia & Lili Boulanger: Les Heures Claires - The Complete Songs Lucile Richardot (mezzo), Stéphane Degout (baritone), Raquel Camarinha (soprano), Anne de Fornel (piano), Sarah Nemtanu (violin), Emmanuelle Bertrand (cello) (Harmonia Mundi)

One Fine Morning review - Léa Seydoux stars in Mia Hanson-Løve's poignant love story

A father in a care home and a passionate affair: the density of real life

In the first scene of Mia Hanson-Løve’s wonderful One Fine Morning, Sandra (Léa Seydoux in a minimal, nuanced performance), is trying to visit her father, Georg (Pascal Greggory), in his Paris flat. But, stuck on the other side, he can’t find the door or turn the key to let her in.

Berthe Morisot: Shaping Impressionism, Dulwich Picture Gallery review - lightning speed brushwork by an Impressionist maestro

★★★ BERTHE MORISOT: SHAPING IMPRESSIONISM, DULWICH PICTURE GALLERY An Impressionist painter's view from inside the boudoir

An Impressionist painter's view from inside the boudoir

When Berthe Morisot organised the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874, along with Monet, Degas, Renoir and co, she’d already exhibited at the Paris Salon for a decade – since she was 23. That’s not bad for someone refused entry to art school because she was a woman!

Blu-ray: A Woman Kills

A lost treasure from May '68 Paris radically considers a transvestite serial killer

May 1968. As France’s Fifth Republic shook, radical director Jean-Denis Bonan divided his time in the Paris streets between filming protests and the fictional hunt for a cross-dressing serial killer. A Woman Kills lay unfinished and forgotten till 2010, a rough-edged film maudit from a tumultuous time.

After Impressionism: Inventing Modern Art, National Gallery review - an impressive tour de force

★★★★★ AFTER IMPRESSIONISM, NATIONAL GALLERY An impressive tour de force

But many names are missing from this international survey

What a feast! Congratulations are due to the National Gallery for its latest blockbuster After Impressionism: Inventing Modern Art. Such a superb collection of modern masters is unlikely to be assembled again under one roof, so this is a once-in-a-lifetime, must-see exhibition.

John Wick: Chapter 4 review - is this the El Cid of shoot-'em-up movies?

★★★★★ JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 Is this the El Cid of shoot-'em-up movies?

Keanu Reeves's Zen assassin scales new heights of awesomeness

Since the first John Wick film from 2014 became an unexpected hit, the Wick franchise has blossomed into a booming business empire, also including comic books, video games and upcoming TV spin-offs. The title role has transformed Keanu Reeves, who remains guarded about his spiritual leanings, into the Zen master of action heroes.