Leitmotif

Short film for children about music

A film for jazz lovers.

Synopsis

A musician nostalgic for his jazz group has a crazy idea.

Leitmotif

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Leitmotif © École The Animation Workshop

Commentary on the film

A magnificent short film about the magic of music.

Questions about the film

Understand the story and themes, express your feelings and develop critical thinking.

1Who is the main character?
An old pianist.

2What kind of music does he play?
Jazz. (more information in the activity: Discover jazz).

3What does he pick up at the start of the film?
A photograph of a group of musicians.

4In this photograph, is the pianist the same age?
No, he's much younger, maybe 50?

5Why is he sad?
He feels nostalgic when he looks at the photograph of his group.

6What do the shadows that appear on the right wall evoke (1 min 30 s)?
This evokes memories of the pianist. He remembers the musicians in his band and imagines that they are together.

7Does this make him less sad?
Yes, he smiles, but very quickly he becomes sad again.

8The cuckoo and its mechanism give him an idea: what is it?
He invents a system that will allow him to play all the instruments at the same time and, therefore, to recompose his group.

9Do you know all the instruments?
Piano, trumpet, saxophone, double bass, drums, timpani.

10Detail what tricks the pianist found to be able to play all the instruments at the same time.
The piano pedal allows you to play the bass drum. A watering can makes drops of water fall on the timpani. A record player spins forks, spoons and knives to play the double bass.

11How does the cat react to the new orchestra?
The cat, who wants to be cuddled, is not happy that his master no longer takes care of him. He decides to leave, but without paying attention, he breaks up the new orchestra.

12How does the film end?
The pianist abandons his idea for a new orchestra and plays the piano, his group in his imagination but his cat on his lap.

Download the film's educational activities as a PDF

Created with the support of the French Ministry of Education and the French National Center for Cinema and Animated Images (CNC).

Watching the film with the family, educational activities with parents at home and with teachers in class.

▸ Create a card game on emotions (Visual arts) (ages 6 to 11)

Educational activities proposed by Valérie from the Val 10 blog based on the film Leitmotif.

▸ Discover jazz (Music education) (ages 6 to 11)

Educational activities proposed by Valérie from the Val 10 blog based on the film Leitmotif.

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TitleLeitmotif

ThemeMusic

Genre & keywordsNarrative, Animals, Comic, Jazz, Nostalgia, Musical instrument

Recommended age7 years old

Duration7 min 6 s

DirectorJ. Nørgaard M. Thorhauge M. Jørgensen M. I. Holmriis

ProductionÉcole The Animation Workshop

Year of production2009

Country of productionDenmark

MusicJ. Baumgartner T. R. Christensen

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