48
Metascore
6 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- An informative if uninvigorating look at the violinist Itzhak Perlman calls "the first true modern virtuoso player," Peter Rosen's God's Fiddler: Jascha Heifetz will draw only the most ardent classical fans to its niche theatrical run but should please a wider audience after making its way to educational TV.
- 60VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibOnce Heifetz becomes a household name, Rosen struggles mightily to milk drama not from his musical genius, but from his relatively unremarkable personal life.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceHis lightning-fast fingers can't fail to impress even those unschooled in the classical idiom, but when not center stage, Heifetz proves a far more elusive figure, firmly out of the grasp of Rosen's film.
- 50The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerThe New York TimesNeil GenzlingerThe film, though generous with doses of Heifetz in performance, isn't entirely successful at illuminating the man.
- 50Slant MagazineSlant MagazineIf the film were in fact a pastry, it might look like the first effort of a blind baker, wildly uneven and inconsistent in ingredient distribution.
- 40New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanWhile some documentaries are broad enough in theme and creative enough in style to attract a wide-ranging audience, others remain best-suited to a smaller group of devotees. Such is the case for Peter Rosen's biography of violinist Jascha Heifetz.