Not since the late Leonard Bernstein has a conductor captured the imagination of the American public quite like Gustavo Dudamel. The Venezuelan-born phenom with the flashing baton and flying curls …
– when it got underway in 2016 – may have seemed to offer a clear thematic departure. But then, as the political situation deteriorated in Venezuela, Dudamel found himself increasingly drawn into the maelstrom.Not long into filming in 2017, demonstrations broke out against the government of President Nicolás Maduro. Over 100 people were killed, some by authorities and others by pro-government paramilitary groups.
The rapidly-shifting political environment caused Braun and his filmmaking team to scratch various shoots. The political tensions become a percussive element to the documentary; in symphonic terms, it’s like a recurring motif within the overall piece. But the primary theme is to explore an artist dedicated to bringing beauty into the world, a conductor who believes in the healing and unifying capacity of music. Dudamel’s work is not “non-political” – it ushers us collectively toward a transcendent plane, a harmonic and radiant one.