Philip Glass is the reserved, minimalist composer who is famous for his resounding, hypnotic, and intentionally redundant pieces. Over the course of a year, director Scott Hicks, whose Oscar winning Shine depicted a socially misfitted musician not entirely unlike Glass, follows the melodist around as he tends to family, works on his latest symphony or film score, and composes his next opera entitled Waiting for the Barbarians. I have always found Glass' work spellbinding, and watching him work with Woody Allen here and also hearing Errol Morris discuss their collaborations is fantastic stuff. However, due to the composer's closed off nature, he doesn't make the most compelling subject, and much of his personal life, discussed at length here, just doesn't seem particularly cinematic. This is also a really long film, especially for a biographical profile of this sort. Also having recently watched "James Levine: America's Maestro", another American Masters entry on a great musical master, the difference was evident on how to make a captivating film on the subject.
