filmalamosa Elina Sousatska (McClain) is a high end eccentric piano teacher. She becomes too attached to her pupils and doesn't want to let them get on with their careers. In this story she takes as a new pupil an Indian British 15 year old Manek Sen (Naveen Chowdry). McClain does an excellent character study you realize she is also a lonely old woman with emotional fears and interests in her pupils that even she doesn't recognize.I like classical music still I find that movies like this take a topic like classical music and exaggerate its importance as though it were the holy grail of human genius and intellectual/emotional achievement. These movies indicate that only a handful of people have what it takes to succeed and the whole world watches them in awe. The reality is of course different, like Olympic athletes (and every other endeavor) the ego and drive is the real key (not some extremely rare genius). None of that selfish overly competitive mania is ever hinted at.Also Naveen Chowdry is a dreadful actor at first I thought he was not a professional actor...but an actual child pianist..but learned on the INTERNET differently.Truthfully I watched it because I had just watched Sunday Bloody Sunday and was so impressed with it I wanted to see more by the director Schlesinger. I found this movie on Netflix Streaming. It was made 17 years later than Sunday Bloody Sunday and is no where near as good.The movie tends to be a bit cloy and corny with things like the house-mates. Chowdry is a terrible actor. The advertisements are intrusive you know things like Coca Cola signs etc... and the visual symbols are too obvious.Still an OK watch because of McClain.RECOMMEND

aussiesheela To me this movie was excellent. It showed how much work you must go through to be the best and also inspired me to keep practicing the piano. I think any aspiring musician should watch this movie.The main character was very dedicated and it was a bit cheezy during parts. I think that the girl he fell for should have been younger, such as another girl taking piano. I was a little confused about the moving old woman and why she had to move. i think it was nice hearing all those old classics, because i enjoy classical music very much. It shows very much artistry and it is now one of my favourite movies. It helps motivate me. I love it.

dwr246 Madame Sousatska is a story of the collision of worlds: British vs. Indian, art vs. business, artist vs. non-artist, and most importantly, adult vs. child.Manek Sen (Navin Chowdhry) is the bright, gifted child of a poor Indian immigrant, Shushita (Shabana Azmi). Shushita, a rich and powerful woman until her divorce, gets by providing Indian food to department stores in London. Realizing that Manek has real talent, and may be able to have a career as a concert pianist, she pushes him to work on his music. Ultimately, Manek comes to the attention of Irina Sousatska (Shirley MacLaine), one of the best teachers in London. She agrees to take Manek on as a student, and vows to teach him about life while she's at it, which puts her at odds with Shushita. Coming to her flat in a crumbling house in London, Manek enters her world, and meets the people who share the house with her. He develops a particular fondness for Jenny (Twiggy), a model dating Ronnie Blum (Leigh Lawson), a concert promoter who takes an interest in booking Manek for a concert appearance with a symphony orchestra. Madame Sousatska is dead set against this since her own concert career was derailed when she was pushed to perform in public before she was ready. When Manek decides to go ahead with the concert, she refuses to teach him anymore, but when Manek triumphs, she wants to help guide him. Will he continue to work with her, or go on to work with Leo Milev (Robert Rietty)? It's an interesting premise, handled deftly. Madame Sousatska claims that life and art are all wound up together and can't be separated, and the movie does a good job of showing this. Particularly well handled is Madame Sousatska's back story, which is told through a series of short flashbacks, presenting only the information pertinent to the plot, rather than her whole life story. Manek is shown having a hard time reconciling being a teenager with being an artist in training. And Shushita is shown as not quite accepting that she is not the most important thing in Manek's life.The acting was first rate. Chowdhry does an excellent job in creating the character of Manek, showing all of the facets to the youth. Twiggy gives a sweet performance as a likable woman longing for a man who treats her badly, and not realizing just how deep Manek's emotions for her run. Lawson is perfect as the smarmy concert promoter. Azmi's Shushita is annoyingly self-absorbed, and clearly more interested in exploiting her son than in raising him. MacLaine sparkles as Sousatska, although she can't seem to decide which accent she is going to use for her character, and her continual switching between them is distracting. Still, it's a solid performance that more than carries the movie.This a lovely movie, a treat for the ears as well as the eyes. And it shows that devotion to one's art, while it does have its rewards, also has its costs.

hondo8 Sweet hearted at it's core ..the relationships of how people care and become important to each other unfolds at the right pace in this story. It is acted so well that although not an exciting picture it seems to flow quickly through the story. There is an interesting sub plot as to what kind of love is going on between the mother...who is absolutely beautiful The other tenant...Twiggy....who is very sexy and who is a young boys...well actually old boys to...dream girl. And of course Shirley Mac.... who mentors and is so very attached to him ....that I was trying to figure out what was up with the way they viewed this young man. Really lovely music to...