Biopic of troubled jazz musician/composer Bix Beiderbecke (1903-1931), who played with the Paul Whiteman band, among others.
Director: Pupi Avati
Stars: Bryant Weeks, Emile Levisetti, Julia Ewing, Romano Orzari.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101460/
Watched online, blurry.
17 songs in the Soundtracks, 1 written by Beiderbecke.
Even reviewers on IMDb are calling this unintelligible in places. I don't recognize any of the actors, and this is the only film for the lead; he has less than a handful of other credits. Most of the cast have no character name on IMDb, and the vast majority have no photo poster for their bio page.
Some of this was filmed in Davenport IA, where the director bought and refurbished the family home for filming.
Since the print I viewed was very blurry, I can't even appreciate what reviewers praise about the film: the period look (20s). Nor does his music grab me. But this is early jazz, just a step away from ragtime. So it's not my favorite.
Apparently Hoagy Carmichael was a friend, and each influenced the other. But the film shows HC as a cornetist, and his Wikipedia bio says he didn't have the lips for it. I guess that's dramatic license so they sat next to each other on the bandstand? HC is well known for playing piano.
Probably should give this a 5 for its incoherence, but I'll be generous.
Italian/US indie, dir. Avati; 6-
