The Legend of 1900 is an epic story of a man who lives his entire life within a ship, but also a story about music, hope, friendship, passion, and despair, and about the fear of facing the unknown.
The story takes place mostly on board of The Virginian, a luxurious ocean-steamer used to take Italian immigrants to New York, and is told through the memories of a trumpet player who is the main character's best friend.
On the first day of 1900, while carefully searching the first class after anything of value, Danny (Bill Nunn), an employee of the ship, finds a newborn baby in a box on the piano. He keeps the boy secretly hidden, and calls him `Danny Boodman TD Lemon Nineteen Hundred', 1900 for short. Eight years later, after Danny's, death, the boy finds the piano and plays incredibly well, much to everyone's amazement, becoming the pianist of the ship.
Several years later Max (Pruitt Taylor Vince) joins the ship's orchestra. On his first night there is a storm and he becomes terribly seasick. 1900 (Tim Roth in a great performance) approaches him and invites him to sit by his side at the piano while he plays. As the waves rock the ship and the piano slides around the ball room, 1900 doesn't even seem to notice and continues to play. They end up crashing into a glass wall and into the Captain's cabin. This is on of the best scenes of the movie, and the beginning of a strong friendship.
Once, while playing the Tarantella for the Italian immigrants, someone spots the Statue of Liberty and they all run to see, leaving 1900 alone. More than once does Max try to convince him to get out of the ship and feel the new experience, but 1900 seems to fear the unknown, and stays inside.
Nineteen Hundred shows an amazing skill in the piano, being able to play any kind of music. His music truly comes from his heart, considering that he has never learnt how to play. While playing in a ball, 1900 suddenly changes the rhythm of the music, according to his impressions on each passenger. He appears to understand everyone's soul.
His fame quickly spreads, and even the father of Jazz, a proud man called Jelly Roll Morton (Clarence Williams III), goes on board to challenge him on the piano. 1900 does not take the challenge seriously at first, but after a while he finally plays with passion, so brilliantly that everyone listens in absolute silence, almost paralyzed, and even the Jazz whiz becomes astonished. It is Max's best scene, as he (who has bet a whole year's salary on his friend 1900) goes from despair to ecstasy.
Because of 1900's refusal in leaving the ship, a recording is planned to take place there. As he plays, he notices a young woman observing him. Inspired by her youth and beauty, he composes the sweetest song ever made, but when told of the success and fame he will surely achieve, 1900 fears the possibility of leaving the ship and decides to keep the record from the world.
Finding himself in love, 1900 becomes determined to offer the record to the girl who inspired it, but fails as she disembarks, leaving him behind. After a long period of loneliness, 1900 announces his decision of leaving the ship, surprising the whole crew, but changes his mind and returns before even touching the ground.
Years pass by. Max leaves the ship and they lose contact. Several years later Max goes into a second hand music store to sell his old trumpet and runs into 1900's record. He becomes aware of the ship's fate: it is ready to be blown up. Max narrates 1900's story as an attempt to save him, for he has no doubt of him still being on the ship. He is finally allowed to search inside The Virginian, and finds his lonely friend there, but is unable to convince him to leave the condemned ship.
The last dialogue is very touching. 1900 tells Max the reason why he never set forth to leave the ship. Opposing the piano, which is a concrete element with a definite size, the land is never-ending. 1900 is afraid of the abstract, of whatever he cannot control. While on the ship there are few options, on the streets there are infinite possibilities, and 1900 finds this insane. Land is a ship too big for him to control. He finally states that, as he doesn't exist to the world, the world will not exist for him. Deeply sad, Max leaves the ship without his friend.
1900 is portrayed by Tim Roth, who fits so well in the character that it is impossible to imagine someone else in his place. 1900 is an enigmatic pianist whose world is the ship where he has always lived. He has a natural and extraordinary talent for music, but is refrained from leaving the ship by an unconscious fear of exploring new horizons. We learn about 1900's legend from his best friend Max, a chubby trumpet player who refuses to accept his reluctance to step in dry land. He constantly brings up the subject, but does not succeed in changing 1900's mind.
The sets and costumes reveal a meticulous reproduction of the beginning of the twentieth century. The music is delightful, and without a doubt the highlight of the movie. The sound effects are perfect, particularly the wind and the waves, sounding like a real ship. The direction also contributed for the great quality of the film: the scenes are harmoniously presented, and it is almost possible to imagine ourselves as one of the immigrants as they see the Statue of Liberty for the first time. In fact, the first scene is a masterpiece, setting the mood for the rest of the movie.
The Legend of 1900 has certainly surpassed my expectations, turning to be an interesting and captivating movie, for what I truly recommend it.
Film can be a powerful medium and here it uses these extremes to take us to a part of our world and our nature that not everyone wants to see. I had a long think after watching this film and tried to imagine what the outcome would have been like if it had not been told in the unconventional style that it was. I thought "would it not have made the rape scene more powerful and affecting if we had been allowed to know the character and maybe not just see her as some stranger. the conclusion i eventually reached was no mostly because i imagine this as being done in the style of a newspaper article, maybe you hear something of a woman being raped on the news and then you pick up a newspaper and read about her life or how many children she has who have been affected. Presenting it this way at the start you wonder why he wants revenge and then you have all the evidence for it laid out in front of you. This rape scene was hard to stomach purely because of the fixed camera and no cuts, it feel more like the rapist was filming his crime for his own gratification, I felt a huge stir of sadness and sympathy for this woman even though i knew nothing of her, I also felt anger at the man who appears in the distance and just walks away. when the camera did move it was a dizzying unnatural movement that moves in for a close up and should make any decent moral soul turn away in disgust. all too often rape like murder is presented in a stylised shortened way with angles and editing but this is a raw honest portrayal of what I imagine a woman goes through and makes you feel the way it does due to its brutality and length.
