Chopin: I Am Not Afraid Of Darkness is available as part of the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer in the 1800s who, by the time of his death at 39, had cemented his place as one of the true icons of classical music. His many assorted compositions have become staples that any person with even a mild interest in playing classical music is expected to learn, pieces of his like Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2 (they did not have great names for songs in those days) are not only standards for people to learn but turn up in pop culture with some regularity because they are just the perfect pieces to set the mood. Chopin’s place in history and in music is so determined that his compositions have been played just about everywhere and the documentary Chopin: I Am Not Afraid of Darkness adds three interesting new locations to that list.
Chopin: I Am Not Afraid of Darkness follows three musicians, Leszek Mozdzer, Fared Marek Basmadji and Won Jae-Yeon as they prepare for what might be the most important set of concerts that they will ever perform. Not only are the three of them preparing to play an open-air concert of Chopin’s music but they have chosen to play them in three very specific locations, specifically Beirut, Auschwitz and the border between North and South Korea. Three places that have a long history of some truly dark events happening, three places in part defined by long brutal wars that cost the lives of millions of people will now be the host to three pianos playing some of the most beautiful music in history.
With only an hour to work with, Chopin: I Am Not Afraid of Darkness wastes absolutely no time in getting the audience to understand the intense idea that these artists will basically be walking into physically dangerous areas or emotionally painful ones in order to play music. It allows us a chance to get to know each of the artists, see the people they love and get to know their history in relation to the locations they’ll be performing in. This is all powered through quickly as possible because Chopin: I Am Not Afraid of Darkness has a lot to get through and little time to linger, but it handles its composers well enough that you get a sense of how important this is for them before Chopin: I Am Not Afraid of Darkness opens up to the bigger topics.
While the key plot of Chopin: I Am Not Afraid of Darkness is about these artists and their music, it makes sure to take plenty of time to explore the history of the three locations and their dark history. Obviously, there isn’t as much detail as you might get in a documentary focused on one of these locations but there is enough there that you can really get a sense of the painful history these places have. Sometimes that’s from interviews with the locals who have lived through some of the darker times, other times you have talking head interviews with people who have escaped some of these areas but each location is given a real sense of gravitas. This isn’t a performance that’s being done just for the bragging rights of saying they performed in these dangerous locations, there’s an intense history and powerful connection to that history that every performer shares and embraces.
For the 60 minutes that we get to spend following these insanely talented artists preparing their performances, it’s engaging as hell. There’s a real sense of pride in their performances that you feel just oozing out off the screen with every second they’re on it. You can tell this means everything to them and they’re doing what they can to make sure it goes well. It’s all so powerful and engaging that the only problem is that you wish you had more time with everyone. If there was a chance to spend more time learning about the personal histories of all the artists, the history of the location and even see more of the concert it would be great (basically here’s hoping for an extended cut of this documentary at some point because it’s so good that I want more of it)
Chopin: I Am Not Afraid of Darkness is definitely not afraid of its important material, it handles it with the respect that it deserves and the utmost amount of care to ensure that it never crosses a line. It’s calm and respectful, while also delving into the fascinating areas of music’s power to be a light in times of darkness and its ability to heal people on an emotional and spiritual level. It’s a showcase of talent, history and humanity that does so much in so little time that it’s honestly kind of incredible. Chopin would undoubtedly be proud to see the kind of magic that his music has inspired in this documentary.
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