The Last Hammer Blow (2014)

Absolutely adored this film. From a creative perspective this is a story of humanity that demonstrates "show don't tell". Full of nuance, intense, touching, profound. A 14 year old lives with his dying mother in a caravan near the sea in Montpelier, he has never met his father, he attends school, plays football and admires his neighbour's daughter. His mother is wasting away, she shares nothing of what's going on. Few characters have much to say to each other, we use our imagination to fill in the gaps. Victor turns up at the venue where his father is rehearsing. He is the conductor, authorative, gruff, an impatient man. He allows Victor to observe them rehearse Mahler's 6th symphony - the inspiration for the title - sublime music with it's infamous, metaphoric three hammer blows. There is something deeply piercing of the soul to see a boy regard his unknown father in his domaine. Inhabiting another universe, classical music is like a foreign country to him - and yet - he is his father's son. Something in him clicks, a form of healing, an opening in his world that until this moment was narrowing towards an end. One to re-watch and to listen to Mahler's Sixth Symphony in its entirety, it's inspiration lives on. Claire in France