A Concerto is a Conversation: Short Film Review
A concerto is defined as a musical composition for a solo instrument or instruments, accompanied by an orchestra. This is the oxford definition, and the definition composer Kris Bowers gives us in the beginning of this film when his grandfather, Horace Bowers, Sr., asks him. Kris tells his grandfather that the back and forth that the soloists do with the orchestra is like a conversation. This then leads into the conversation that Kris and his grandfather have with each other. A Concerto is a Conversation is about both the lives Kris and his grandfather have lived and what they’ve overcome as black men in this country. This film is directed by Ben Proudfoot and Bowers himself. What makes this film wonderful is the ability Proudfoot and Bowers have to parallel the lives of Kris and his grandfather.
Horace Bowers, Sr. was born and raised in Florida in the early 20th century. As expected, where Horace grew up was surrounded by racism. Horace knew immediately when he was old enough that he was going to get out of the south. He spent part of his life homeless, going from city to city until he found a bus that could take him to California. Once he moved to California, when looking for a job, he knew that it would be difficult for him to find a job in person because of his skin color, so he pretended to be an employment agency and call on behalf of himself until he was able to find work. This worked for him and he found a job at a dry-cleaning store. He would later buy this store at the age of 20 and he continued to buy other properties around Los Angeles. However, just as it was difficult for him to avoid prejudice when looking for employment, Horace bought many properties on the phone because he knew sellers would not do work with him because of his skin color. Through all of this, Horace persevered and is a successful businessman to this day.
Where this film truly becomes brilliant is when Kris tells his upbringing. Kris was one of the very few black people to be in his orchestra growing up. He always felt it was an uphill battle, but his grandfather, from his own experiences, told him to never shy away from the goals he wished to reach. Kris would go on to be one of the few black composers to have his pieces performed in large concert venues. Kris and his grandfather are both examples of not letting anyone hold you back for the color of your skin. Although facing very different struggles, it’s the way Proudfoot and Bowers treat this conversation like a concerto that makes it brilliant. They do a marvelous job of going back and forth and matching the music (composed by Kris Bowers himself) to how a concerto works.
The music itself is magnificent. It’s grand and sweeping when they go through Horace’s life, as though you can feel the magnitude of his life and how big some of those events were, like him moving from Florida to California by himself. For the more endearing moments, like when Horace met his wife at the dry-cleaners, or when Kris talks about his younger orchestra days or him being on stage when Green Book (which he worked on), the music settles down. Much of the film is flashbacks of Kris’ life and his grandfather’s, simple black and white images and childhood videos of Kris. However, when we see Kris and his grandfather speaking in present day, the cinematography (done by David Bolen and Brandon Somerhalder) is close-ups of Kris’ face and his grandfather’s. This choice is smart because we’re going through their lives and you can see the small details in their eyes when they talk about certain moments in their lives. This makes the film more personal, just as it should be.
A Concerto is a Conversation was featured in the New York Times’ Op-Docs and is truly a story worth hearing. Kris and Horace Bowers, Sr. have lived incredible lives. Their stories are inspirational, just as this film was meant to be.
