History Film / TheRedViolin

* PetTheDog: Frederick Pope may be an arrogant jerk to his conductor and the rest of his orchestra, but he lets the Romani camp stay on his land as long as they like, and even gives them free tickets to his performances, all in exchange for one violin of theirs. [[spoiler: As it turns out, he eventually develops ulterior motives for the Romani girl as well.]]

* ThePowerOfBlood: Of the Blood Is Symbolic variety. [[spoiler: Busotti finishes the violin after his wife's death by making a varnish of her blood and painting it on with her hair. The violin carries on Anna's spirit (or, alternately, her child's). Ever after, the violin's owners constantly play a variant on Anna's Theme.]]

* ToplessnessFromTheBack: On the film poster and soundtrack cover, a curved woman's back (probably Anna) is shown with the f holes superimposed on her.

* RedChina: The fourth portion of the story takes place during the UsefulNotes/CulturalRevolution, when Western instruments are outlawed. This segues into the final portion where after many years, the Chinese Police find Chou Yan's dead from old age and his cache of instruments. Now removed from the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese Government makes arrangements for a Montreal auction house to sell these items.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: The dark fates of the violin's owners and the obsession it creates could simply be attributed to the costs of artistic excellence and human nature. Its owner's habits of playing a particular tune could be could be the result of trained ears being subtly guided by the resonance points the academic researcher finds. The mysterious power of the music it produces could be the result of a masterwork finding itself in the hands of gifted musicians. Nevertheless, a number of characters seem to sense something a bit... [[ArtifactOfDoom off]]... about the instrument.

* DirtyCommunists: The Red Guards of the Cultural Revolution certainly are, what with their policy of destroying anything even remotely Capitalist or Western , like rabid dogs no less.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: The dark fates of the violin's owners and the obsession it creates could simply be the attributed to the costs of artistic excellence and human nature. Its owner's habits of playing a particular tune could be could be the result of trained ears being subtly guided by the resonance points the academic researcher finds. The mysterious power of the music it produces could be the result of a masterwork finding itself in the hands of gifted musicians. Nevertheless, a number of characters seem to sense something a bit... [[ArtifactOfDoom off]]... about the instrument.

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: All the auction candidates who want to buy the violin for sentimental or respectful reasons are outbid, and it ends up going to the pompous Mr. Ruselsky, who only wants it to boast about. [[SubvertedTropeOr... does it?]] ]]

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: All the auction candidates who want to buy the violin for sentimental or respectful reasons are outbid, and it ends up going to the pompous Mr. Ruselsky, who only wants it to boast about. Or... does it? ]]

* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: Two characters, who never meet, embody this dichotomy perfectly, even living during the appropriate time periods:
** Monsieur Poussin in Vienna eagerly embraces the ideals of science, progress, and reason. The audition piece he sets for Kaspar is not emotional or passionate: it is one complicated chord played faster and faster, to prove the boy's technical skill. As a result, Poussin considers Kaspar's love for his violin to be a foolish superstition, and doesn't realize how much it means to the boy. Although, as his affection for Kaspar grows, he does understand, and lets the boy carry on sleeping with the violin.
** Frederick Pope of Oxford, some century and a half later, is a Byronic musical genius. His performances feature music composed on the spot in a fit of sexual inspiration, and hang the rest of the orchestra for prudes. The downside is that when his muse departs, he can barely function, let alone compose [[spoiler: and finds inspiration with a Romani girl.]]

* HeyWait: You forgot your coat, Mr. Morritz. ([[{{Irony}} And after he specifically made sure the coat-checker wouldn't let him forget it.]]) [[note: This is especially jarring considering that Leroux had called security after noticing the replica was missing the inventory tag, and we were led to believe that this man was trying to detain Morritz. It's all part of a BaitAndSwitch once the inventory tag is located.]]

* HeyWait: You forgot your coat, Mr. Morritz. ([[{{Irony}} And after he specifically made sure the coat-checker wouldn't let him forget it.]])

** When Ming sees the violin presented at the actual auction, he says [[spoiler: "That's not the one I remember." (as he had previously viewed the violin in the gallery.) His wife assures him that he's mistaken. This may have (rightly) influenced his decision to not bid further on the violin.]]

* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler: Just after Morritz swaps out the violin, he loses the tag and tries to hurry out. Leroux sees the replica is missing the tag and wants security called immediately. There is a man chasing Morritz out to the street, presumably to detain him. It's all part of a RedHerring in which the man was actually the clerk holding Morritz's jacket and the tag is found in the inventory room and chalked up to a mistake by the inventory clerk.]]

* BaitAndSwitch: Just after Morritz swaps out the violin, he loses the tag and tries to hurry out. Leroux sees the replica is missing the tag and wants security called immediately. There is a man chasing Morritz out to the street, presumably to detain him. It's all part of a RedHerring in which the man was actually the clerk holding Morritz's jacket and the tag is found in the inventory room and chalked up to a mistake by the inventory clerk.

** [[spoiler: To verify the violin's authenticity, Mme. Leroux (in Montreal) orders a replica of the violin that was made when it came into Frederick Pope's hand (Pope being the violin's most famous owner), in order to compare them. They're almost indistinguishable. Morritz later swaps out the real violin for the replica.]]

* RedChina: The fourth portion of the story takes place during the UsefulNotes/CulturalRevolution, when Western instruments are outlawed. This segues into the final portion where after many years, the Chinese Police find Chou Yan's dead from old age and his cache of instruments. Now removed from the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese Government makes arrangements for the Canadian Government to sell these items at an auction.

** When Ming sees the violin presented at the actual auction, he says [[spoiler: "That's not the one I remember." (as he had previously viewed the violin in the gallery. His wife assures him that he's mistaken. This may have (rightly) influenced his decision to not bid further on the violin.]]

* AndTheAdventureContinues: Morritz takes the Red Violin home to be played by his daughter.

* [[IllGirl Ill Boy]]: Kasper Weiss, as a young boy version of this trope with a "weak heart".

* KarmaHoudini: Let's face it, Morritz did ''steal'' the Red Violin, even if it was for a more noble purpose. It would appear that he gets away scot free (unless Customs agents get involved).

** We are also led to believe that Chou Yan is being forced to burn the Red Violin. Turns out that it is not.
** Finally, the Red Violin that is displayed on auction is this, and it almost seems that a certain pompous individual (with no link to the violin itself) is about to get it.

* MeaninglessVillainVictory: [[spoiler: Mr. Ruselsky ends up winning the red violin at auction -- but what he doesn't know is, that violin he won is a fake. And even if he figures it out, his pride will never let him admit he was so duped.]]

** Played with by Mr. Ruselsky. He has no interest in playing the violin as it is meant to be played, but only as part of his collection.

* PetTheDog: Frederick Pope may be an arrogant jerk to his conductor and the rest of his orchestra, but he lets the Romani camp stay on his land as long as they like, and even gives them free tickets to his performances, all in exchange for one violin of theirs. [[spoiler: As it turns out, he also had ulterior motives for the Romani girl as well.]]

** When Ming sees the violin presented at the actual auction, he says [[spoiler: "That's not the one I remember." His wife assures him that he's mistaken. This may have (rightly) influenced his decision to not bid further on the violin.]]

* IllGirl: Kasper Weiss, as a young boy version of this trope with a "weak heart".

** The film both opens and closes in Cremona, Italy, in the seventeenth century.

** When Ming first sees the violin presented at the auction, he says [[spoiler: "That's not the one I remember." His wife assures him that he's mistaken. This may have (rightly) influenced his decision to not bid further on the violin.]]