THE QUEST FOR HARMONY

Theatrical documentary by THOMAS GRUBE
GER/UK, 110 min., HD, 35mm/DCP, Dolby Digital

The cosmos of the Berliner Philharmoniker: 128 musicians, all masters of their craft, who put their individual virtuosity at the service of a common cause and shape the sound of the orchestra. What is the human and artistic secret that makes this possible? Where are the contradictions between ego and community? Director Thomas Grube explores these questions in his cinema film TRIP TO ASIA.

In the almost 130 years of their existence, the Berliner Philharmoniker have hardly ever given such a deep insight into their inner life. And so TRIP TO ASIA is only superficially a documentary about a tour by the orchestra and its chief conductor Sir Simon Rattle to Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei and Tokyo. In the midst of Asia's vibrant metropolises, in the encounter between Western tradition and Far Eastern philosophy, European and Asian modernity, in the limbo of a journey lasting several weeks between curiosity, passion and exhaustion, the diverse motivations and temperaments that each of these distinctive personalities brings to the orchestra become visible. With remarkable openness and thoughtfulness, the musicians and their conductor talk about their lives, about doubts and the pressure to perform, about tradition and new beginnings, about friendship and competition, about the gruelling rehearsal period as a newcomer to the orchestra and the melancholy of parting - and about the longing for complete musical fulfilment.

Featuring the inspired and timeless music of THOMAS ADÈS' 'Asyla', BEETHOVEN‘s 'Eroica' and RICHARD STRAUSS‘ 'A Hero’s Life' ('Ein Heldenleben').

„All of us go through something which demands that pulling together of two disparate parts“, says SIMON RATTLE.

In the midst of the vibrant urban jungles of Asia, TRIP TO ASIA relates the eternal struggle between ego and community, the age-old and daunting quest for harmony with oneself and one’s neighbors. A deeply personal musical excursion into the overlapping borderlands of melancholy, enthusiasm, loneliness and yearning, an adventure that uses fascinating images and intoxicating sound to distill a universal story of humankind and society into a breathtaking cinematic experience.

We journey through the inquisitive lens of cameramen ANTHONY DOD MANTLE (Festen, 28 Days Later, Dogville, Manderlay, Last King Of Scotland), ALBERTO VENZAGO (Magnum photographer and Robert Capa Award winner) and RENÉ DAME (Rhythm Is It!). Savor the music of a dramatic and innovative score using the real-life sounds of the cities on the tour, masterfully recorded on location by acclaimed composer and sound artist SIMON STOCKHAUSEN: SOUNDS OF ASIA, the film’s illuminating and breakthrough score fuses visceral audio from the trip and the Philharmonic‘s music into a single, mesmerizing whole.

A film by THOMAS GRUBE

Cinematography: RENÉ DAME, ALBERTO VENZAGO, ANTHONY DOD MANTLE, STEFAN CIUPEK, Sound: PASCAL CAPITOLIN, Bernd von Bassewitz, Montage: Martin Hoffmann, Music: Simon Stockhausen, Original Music: RICHARD STRAUSS, LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN, THOMAS ADÈS, Commissioning Editors: ALAN YENTOB, ANCA-MONICA PANDELEA, Line Producers: PETER HERMANN, MARC WÄCHTER, Producers: UWE DIERKS, THOMAS GRUBE, ANDREA THILO

A BOOMTOWN MEDIA production
in coproduction with: BBC and ZDF, Funding by MEDIENBOARD BERLIN-BRANDENBURG, FFA FILMFÖRDERUNGSANSTALT, BKM BUNDESMINISTER FÜR KULTUR UND MEDIEN

Released in cinemas by PIFFL (Germany), CETERA (Japan), FILMS SANS FRONTIÈRES (France), XENIX (Switzerland), AXIOM (UK), GUTEK (Poland), POLYFILM (Austria)

World sales by BOOMTOWNMEDIA INTERNATIONAL

Honors

DVD and Soundtrack

DVD and Blu-ray available by AL!VE.

The soundtrack and remix album "SOUNDS OF ASIA" available by AL!VE.

Stream it here.