seven-minute cinemas

The Story
Film Theory
The Music
Film Clip
The Shoot The Players
The Budget

Instrumental Treason
A Mutiny in Four Movements
A Film by Jake Elsas


 

The Music
Instrumental Treason ia film which contains NO DIALOGUE. The goal of this film the very thing that makes it unique is that all of the musicians' feelings and attitudes towards each other are expressed either filmically, through juxtaposed images, or through the music itself especially the mutiny, which is expressed in jazz.

The Conductor
This is a film about an orchestra... An orchestra of forty-five classically trained musicians on the verge of a meltdown.

Their conductor, a proud authoritarian, intends like he always has, to rule over them with a demanding baton. The music must be played perfectly at all costs.

Some fear him. Some loathe him. Some love him. Tensions are high.

On this particular night the conductor makes the mistake of pushing his orchestra too far. This is the night when mad desperation ultimately takes hold of those who hate him, forcing them to fight against the conductor and the small number of faithful musicians who support him or be subject forever to his severe methods.

Finally, on this night, there are those in the orchestra who find the strength to mutiny...

All the music is original. The symphonic portion which consists of three movements (each approximately five minutes in length)was written by German composer Niels Muller. The jazz portion (the "mutiny") which creates, essentially, a fourth movement was written by jazz bassist and composer Ben Wolfe.

When the mutiny occurs, both musical forms classical and jazz are played simultaneously, resulting in a cacophony that is resolved only after the winning musicians finally emerge victorious.


View the Entire Film

This download of the complete film is now available on Vimeo.com.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at 7MC.