Incannerax What a waste of my time!!!

2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

TxMike First a word about the school. MLC school in Sydney, Australia was established in 1886 and educates girls pre-K through Year 12. On several occasions the teachers are stating to the students something about their privilege, and when you look at the fee structure for 2014 you get a hint why. It varies a bit by grade but for teens it is in the order of $26,000 a year. For those who think US dollars that is between $24,000 and $25,000 depending on the exchange rate. Or closer to what one might pay for college. So these kids come from well-off families.Mrs. Karen Carey is the music director at the school and they usually give a big concert, involving most of the students, every two years in the Sydney Opera house. This film documents that for a recent year, beginning about 8 months before the concert is scheduled.As some have mentioned it often feels more like a "reality show" than a pure documentary. There are mild disciplinary talks with some of the students who have a habit of getting in trouble. Some talks with groups who don't seem interested in participating. But Mrs Carey feels strongly that such participation can be a "life-changing" experience for them if they go at it with the right attitude.I was one of those kids once, but at a small town public school. I played in the band, trumpet, and was good enough to be first chair and participate in regional honor bands. I can relate to this content, being in music and in performances during my formative years was a key activity to help form who I became as an adult.The film ends with the big concert, excerpts of most if not all performances. It ends with Emily, a Chinese-Australian student whose dad was a violinist but died young. Emily clearly grew up in Sydney but is somewhat reserved and, when asked if she would perform a violin concerto with orchestra at the big performance she was reluctant. Oh she knew she could learn the music, she wasn't sure about performing in such a venue for such a big audience.But Emily did great, in fact it was more like seeing and hearing a professional violinist perform. She was flawless, her pitch was always perfect, she performed with emotion, and she finished with a big smile. Even though some parts of the film might be less thrilling, seeing her performance made the whole viewing great.

timcolebatch contains spoilerThe first review in this section is such a Rant against Authority that it provokes me to write a rejoinder.This documentary will particularly interest lovers of classical music, because the film is full of it, and really good music too, edgy music from early 20th century composers (Ravel's string quartet, Vaughan Williams' Variation of a Theme of Thomas Tallis.It will particularly interest those who have an interest in how kids grow up, and acquire the discipline to achieve things that were once beyond their reach.And it will particularly interest those who are curious about how interventionist schools shape their students, and why the elite private schools of Australia, Britain and presumably other countries achieve such success in academic and artistic areas.MLC (Methodist Ladies College) is one of the elite girls' schools of Sydney, with expensive fees, a strong culture of achievement, and a policy to apply this to music. The annual school concert in the iconic Sydney Opera House = Mrs Carey's Concert = is one of the highlights of the school year, in which every student, musical or otherwise, interested or not, is obliged to take part.Chinese girls make up outsized part of the school's musical talent, and the film strikes a nice balance by focussing on two of them: one who is the school's outstanding violinist, Emily Sun, and another, Iris, who is the cool, defiant one, determined not to take part.Yes, the girls are pushed to achieve things, to play complex music that at first, and even close to concert night, seems beyond them. But they get swept up in it, push themselves, and they make it. You live it with them, and you share their excitement when the concert comes off.Reviewer 1 up above was aghast that this is achieved by a subtly authoritarian culture, where it is drummed into the girls that their music must come first in their lives. Well, whether it's football coaches or law firms or financial traders, that is how success is achieved, how promise is translated into achievement. That is why private schools are so good at what they do, and why these teenage girls, by the end of it, belong on the stage of the Sydney Opera House.

Chief_Squirrel The various internet movie reviews (and the entirely disingenuous DVD cover) suggest MRS. CAREY'S CONCERT is some kind of "exhilarating feature film experience". I had to double-check to see if I had watched the same show.The movie I saw, a fly-on-the-wall documentary, is more an effective examination of the processes of indoctrination employed by teachers at a private girls' school. Perhaps it's due to the power of dramatic archetypes that critics and viewers alike stopped watching the story that was, and inferred something else entirely. I'm not sure.I didn't see "determination" or "the power of education to transform lives". I saw bullying and threats, as the teaching staff attempted to shoehorn off-the-rack notions of music into the minds of their callow pupils.The one notable exception, Iris, has been described elsewhere as "truculent" and "a villain" for no other reason than refusing to conform. Her crime seemed to be simply stating the truth of her feelings: that she was not interested in participating in the concert. What the hell is wrong with that? In almost any other dramatic context, Iris would be considered the hero.The privileged high school students---appropriately immature and unworldly---are patently unable to appreciate the deeper themes and emotions at the heart of classical music. Yet, are ruthlessly intimidated; if only to the point of appearing as if they do, just to make the intimidation stop.Emily, the competent violinist at the centre of the story seems to be singled out for additional verbal water-boarding for no other reason than that she is Asian. All of her ability and talent is brought to the school on the back of her own circumstance and dedication; I'm puzzled how anyone could think the teachers should take the credit for it.With the focus of the two year-long narrative being wholly on the destination (rather than the journey), it's no wonder the final performance is so bereft of joy, especially from the titular Mrs. Carey. By the end of it all, I didn't see kids transformed by the perseverance of one woman. I saw kids who simply seemed to be happy that the whole thing was finally over.It's impossible to watch this film and not invoke Chris Lilley from ANGRY BOYS or SUMMER HEIGHTS HIGH. Nonetheless, the documentary is recommended viewing... just not for any of the reasons stated in the reviews or the marketing.To me, MRS. CAREY'S CONCERT demonstrates two things. Firstly, everything that is wrong with the education system, especially private education. Secondly, considering the comments, the insidious power of brainwashing.

ptb-8 This is a wonderful and uplifting new documentary about the year of prep in a Sydney girls high school for a large team of girls to stage a massive orchestra concert in the famed Sydney Opera House. Mrs Carey of the title is a no nonsense music teacher whose focus and commitment allows some unsure girls to trust their talent and instincts and genuinely rise to the occasion. However not all goes to plan and there is a group of mean girls whose taste in life and music is more Paris Hilton than Mrs Carey. The film makers here have struck antagonist gold with a real life roadblock to happiness and success with this group of surly selfish teenage girls determined to passive and aggressively train wreck the show. International viewers will love this Australian reality movie which alludes to Mr HOLLANDS OPUS and the Swedish choir film AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. Even the US teen drama DRUMLINE is in the same territory... and all 4 films are worth your time. This year it is Mrs Carey's turn and the final orchestra sequence shot live in the Sydney Opera house will have you and everyone in the cinema cheering. To Sir With Love? This film is a 2011 version that becomes To Mrs Carey With Music.