Pavarotti is a documentary about the titular opera singer. I love documentaries. I occasionally enjoy opera. Pavarotti is one of those icons that I saw everywhere, but never gave much thought to him as an individual. I considered this documentary an opportunity to learn more about the legend, but I was planning to see it when it became available for home viewing. It was not playing at the usual nearby theaters that show documentaries, but a chain theater in Boston that I had no interest in going to considering that two trains jumped off the tracks during the week that it opened. I’m not THAT interested in Pavarotti. During its third week, it came to a local theater near me albeit with a limited number of showings, but it is about quality, not quantity.
Pavarotti was incredibly entertaining. I actually am not a fan of Ron Howard’s films so when I saw his name on the screen, I was initially concerned, but his documentary was rather solid. It probably helped that I recently saw Toni Morrison: Pieces of Me, which felt like a missed opportunity to make a masterpiece. Because Howard’s documentary made none of the same mistakes as Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ film, it increased my appreciation of Howard’s work. It predominantly consisted of archival footage from interviews and home videos of the singer. The singer apparently did his best to document every moment of his life for posterity regardless of whether or not he was working so it is more about editing a story well and filling in the holes when footage isn’t available with new interviews by people eager to reminisce about the man that they love and miss. It would be hard to screw up, but not impossible. I’m looking at you, Tom Volf’s Maria by Callas.
Pavarotti’s narrative is mostly in chronological order, but when it jumps around the timeline, overall it makes emotional thematic sense and never gets confusing. For example, because the documentary starts with an allusion to Enrico Caruso, I actually think that the film should not have waited so long to explain who he was, but based on the context, I got the gist. The film very briefly references at the beginning his experiences during World War II then later goes into specific detail to explain his motivation when he was fundraising during the Bosnia Herzegovina war. It was a helpful reminder, but perhaps belonged better in the beginning. Also they wait until almost the end of the film to talk about a childhood illness to explain why he advises a loved one to approach a diagnosis with optimism or alludes to his woman dominated family to explain why he loves the company of women, which seems like a weak rationalization, but is a plausible explanation. It is a little clunky and could feel repetitive or in need of tightening up, but not glaringly unforgiveable given the emotional tone that Howard was trying to strike during those points in the film. Maybe the entire movie should have been more thematic rather than chronological, but it does not ruin the overall impact of the film.
Even if you know nothing or quite a bit about opera, I think that the documentary is sensitive to its audience and takes brief moments that don’t detract from the momentum of the entire story to explain what a specific opera was about, explaining what makes tenors special, etc. I actually learned a couple of things such as the words come before the music or how unnatural it is to be a tenor. Some of Pavarotti’s talking heads actually had a personal relationship with the singer, but you won’t find out which ones until later in the documentary. It did make me retroactively consider whether they were personally biased, but the proof is ultimately in the pudding. All a viewer has to do is listen to his voice. He was objectively a standout.
Pavarotti the documentary was made with the blessing and cooperation of his family, but it didn’t feel whitewashed or like a vanity project. He may not be critiqued often because he is an infectiously likeable person, but he is critiqued. Later in his career, he adopts some diva antics. He has affairs, and one of them has the general whiff of sexual harassment yet Pavarotti was so affable that a dog saw the movie and only shook his fluffy self once. If you’re a side chick, and you’re dating Pavarotti, you’re going to be fine. Newt Gingrich is like the anti-Pavarotti. If you get sick, Pavarotti will love you more and drop everything to be with you. If your ex still cooks your favorite dinner on your deathbed, you’re doing something right.
Pavarotti is primarily interesting for how it charts the development of the singer’s career and pinpointing the parts that were planned versus improvised. Three Tenors starts because they lived in the same building, and one was sick and trying to make a come back. I left impressed with Pavarotti’s openness to doing new things—some things that I would have run screaming from, and his general joie de vivre which seemed to inspire other people, whether they are artists or businessmen, to be creative in their approach to projects. I was struck by his ecumenical approach to art, which may have caused the masses to love him, but hurt his reputation as defined by opera standards. In the end, the work seemed to be about relationships over theoretical standards of excellence. Still to my untrained, Philistine ears, one Pavarotti seemed to equal Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. While I appreciated Bono’s vigorous defense of his friend’s voice, and his insight wasn’t wrong, I also thought, “Are people clamoring to know Bono’s opinion about the quality of an opera singer’s performance? Stick to recollecting personal stories.” The dishy stories interspersed with the professional were well balanced. Also as a Sting fan, though he is only featured in the archived footage, an instrumental version of Shape of My Heart was impossible to miss and his subtle contribution to the love fest was appreciated.
Pavarotti ultimately depicts the singer as an opera evangelist and generous bon vivant. If you can, I would recommend that you see it in the theaters for the sound quality so you can truly savor his performances. So far Pavarotti is also a standout as the feel good movie of 2019 when you can enjoy the rare combination of a nice man who is also successful and deserving of that success yet appreciative and delighted by his good fortune. I would definitely sit down and have a meal with him.
