- BACH
AT THE PAGODA
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- Press Reviews
from Switzerland (Englisch)
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- "Beatocello, music
and life. An impressive documentary about Beat
Richner's humanitarian work."
- Neue Luzerner
Zeitung, Nicole Hess
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- "Bach combats
tuberculosis. Albert Schweizer funded his jungle
hospital with organ concerts in Europe and loved Bach
more than anything. Dr. Beat Richner loves Bach just
as much, but his instrument is the cello. As
'Beatocello' he delights adults with Bach's cello
suites and dons the guise of a musical clown to
entertain children with his own songs and short pieces
for the cello. Every performance features his song
about the account number of his foundation ('Doctor
PC') because, like Schweizer, Richner partly funds his
Cambodian hospitals with the money from his
concerts."
- Musik &
Theater, Reinmar Wagner
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- "The recording of a
music CD forms the basis of a documentary presenting
'beautiful' atmospheric images of Cambodia, the busy
routine in the twin Kantha Bopha hospitals and the
motives, arguments and mental strength of the
remarkable man who runs them...
- Richner does not
simply play cabaret on his cello. The music helps him
to fight his bitterness, conveying peace and humanity.
It comes as no surprise that by his own charming
admission this self-willed, unconventional personality
cannot play from music."
- Neue Zürcher
Zeitung, Christoph Wehrli
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- "A Swiss doctor
transposes Bach to the land of pagodas and Buddha...
The great Johann Sebastian Bach certainly never
imagined that his music would one day be played inside
a Cambodian pagoda and help save the lives of many
children in a country ravaged by decades of war...
With the help of his cello, Beat Richner has managed
to build and run two hospitals in Cambodia... Georges
Gachot's film deserves credit for painting the
real-life portrait of a truly extraordinary
figure."
- Le Courrier,
Jacques Erard
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- "Beatocello on the
big screen... a powerful film... "
- Le Nouveau
Quotidien, Stéphane Herzog
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- "Presenting the
vast historical canvas of a country scarred by the
bloody dictatorship of the Khmer Rouge and scenes
depicting its current state, the film displays a
certain fondness for polished images, a dominant
characteristic of documentaries: the scenic backdrop
of everyday life is interspersed with long asides by
the principal figure, Dr. Beat Richner, and the whole
film is punctuated with interludes featuring classical
music."
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- Le Nouveau
Quotidien, Olivier Kohler
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