''The Maestro'' is a 2018 American historical
drama directed, produced by
Adam Cushman and
David J. Phillips and written by C.V. Herst, the real-life son of the film's protagonist Jerry Herst. The film features
Xander Berkeley as composer
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, an Italian immigrant who arrived in Los Angeles in the thirties after evading Mussolini's Italy. ''The Maestro'' premiered at the
Heartland Film Festival in 2017. The film was acquired for distribution by
Freestyle Releasing and had a limited theatrical release in Los Angeles.
Plot
After World War II, budding musician Jerry Herst (Leo Marks) returns to Los Angeles for one more go at becoming a successful film composer. In Los Angeles, Herst studies with the famed instructor Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (
Xander Berkeley), whose students include John Williams, Andre Previn, Henry Mancini, Nelson Riddle and Jerry Goldsmith. Herst, who already had a hit under his belt, 1937's "So Rare", struggles between family pressure and his musical calling, as Tedesco teaches him what it means to be a successful artist. The film also features actor
Jon Polito
Jon Raymond Polito (December 29, 1950 – September 1, 2016) was an American character actor. In a film and television career spanning 35 years, he amassed over 220 credits. Notable television roles included Detective Steve Crosetti in the fi ...
as fictional MGM executive Herbert Englehardt in what would be Polito's final performance.
Cast
*
Xander Berkeley as
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
* Leo Marks as
Jerry Herst Jerome Philip Herst (May 28, 1909, in
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois – November 27, 1990, in Alameda, California), known as Jerry Herst, was a lawyer and a songwriter best known for his collaborations with Jack Sharpe on a number of compositions ...
*
Mackenzie Astin as Sam Herst
*
Sarah Clarke as Clara Castelnuovo-Tedesco
*
William Russ as Abe Herst
*
Jon Polito
Jon Raymond Polito (December 29, 1950 – September 1, 2016) was an American character actor. In a film and television career spanning 35 years, he amassed over 220 credits. Notable television roles included Detective Steve Crosetti in the fi ...
as Herbert Englehardt
*
Jonathan Cherry as Ray
* Raul S. Julia as Dave
*
Bobby Campo as Gene Kelly
* Joelle Sechaud as Mrs. Stella
*
David J. Phillips as Jess Oppenheimer
*
Alex Essoe
Alexandra Essoe (born March 9, 1992) is a Canadian actress who has appeared predominantly in horror films. Essoe had her first lead role in the 2014 American horror film '' Starry Eyes'', and she had a starring role in the 2017 American horror fil ...
as Cyd Charisse
*
Kristen Gutoskie as Estelle Oppenheimer
*
Lenny Von Dohlen as Luc
*
Michael Johnston as
Pietro Castelnuovo-Tedesco
*
Omar Doom as
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
Release
The film played several festivals before its official release, receiving the Audience Award at the
Tallgrass Film Festival in 2018, the Jury Award at the Borrego Springs Film Festival in 2019, the Silver Palm award at the 2018
Mexico International Film Festival, and the Youth Film Award at the
Rhode Island International Film Festival in 2018. Actor
Xander Berkeley received "Best Actor" awards at the 2017
Oaxaca Film Festival and the 2018 Albuquerque Film & Music Experience.
On
Rotten Tomatoes it has a rating of 83% based on reviews from 6 critics.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maestro
2018 films