SummaryMeet Seymour Bernstein: a virtuoso pianist, veteran New Yorker, and true original who gave up a successful concert career to teach music. In this wonderfully warm, witty, and intimate tribute from his friend, Ethan Hawke, Seymour shares unforgettable stories from his remarkable life and eye-opening words of wisdom, as well as insightful reflectio... Read More
Directed By:Ethan Hawke
Seymour: An Introduction
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
83
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.7
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
83
96% Positive
26 Reviews
26 Reviews
4% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Mar 26, 2015
100
Seymour: An Introduction gives viewers a soaring, sublime and enduringly meaningful glimpse of a man who is undoubtedly the real thing.
Feb 9, 2015
91
On the whole, by ceding control to his subject, Hawke makes a persuasive case for Bernstein's guru-like outlook on the value of finding personal gratification in art above all else.
Mar 19, 2015
88
As for Hawke’s own filmmaking skills, it’s hard to find much wrong with this film, itself a meditation on art and the practice of craft. His touch is delicate, and let’s not worry too much if the tone is occasionally fawning.
Mar 16, 2015
80
Seymour unfolds like a Jewish Jiro Dreams of Sushi—Bernstein may look like your average NYC grandpa, but he lives like a monk and talks like a guru.
Feb 9, 2015
80
This first documentary directed by Ethan Hawke happily sidesteps any vanity-project pitfalls, granting full expression to Bernstein’s wise and witty commentary on a craft that he’s spent decades honing — as well as the proper application of that craft when the demands of art are often outweighed by the pressures of commerce.
Mar 9, 2015
75
Ethan Hawke's concentration on Seymour Bernstein isn't a betrayal of his own ego massaging, but rather an attempt to have a genuine soul-bearing conversation.
Mar 12, 2015
60
Intimate and intellectual, the film — with a title taken from J.D. Salinger — focuses on the type of person you pass on the street, see in a coffee shop or sit next to on the subway who makes you wonder what life he’s led. One full of melody and muse, it turns out.
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.7
100% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Mar 28, 2015
8
A thoughtful, engaging look not only at an interesting individual, but also at his views of what constitutes his art (specifically the art of music). Through intriguing conversations with the protagonist and his familiars, the film takes viewers on an exploration of elements of its subject that, at first glance, might seem unrelated but that are ultimately integral to its truest understanding. An interesting, unexpected offering from Ethan Hawke in one of his rare directorial turns.
Production Company:
- Room 5 Films
- Under the Influence Productions
Release Date:Mar 13, 2015
Duration:1 h 24 m
Rating:PG
Awards
Heartland Film
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Cinema Eye Honors Awards, US
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Toronto International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
