Diagonaldi Very well executed

Steineded How sad is this?

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Prismark10 It is really difficult to do something new about a jazz musician with a frenzied personal life be it women, alcohol, drugs or all three because it seems that all great jazz musicians had the same issues.Born to be Blue is a lower scale film but thematically not too different from Bird directed by Clint Eastwood back in 1988.Chet Baker was known for his west coast jazz sound. He also had problems with drug addiction and going in and out of prison. When he has his teeth smashed and has to wear dentures, Baker has to learn how to play the jazz trumpet again as well as stay clean when those around him are doubtful.Ethan Hawke gives a gut wrenching performance as Baker trying to start all over again as a musician when previously it had been all so easy. Now no one wants to give him another chance as he has let down so many people down in the past. The film though is low wattage and offers little new though.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) This is the title of another recent movie about a musician named Baker, but it could also be the words told by the female protagonist's father to his daughter. "Born to Be Blue" is a Canadian/British co-production that premiered already in 2015, but the fact that it took until now for the film to reach German theaters says a lot about the subject and people's appreciation for it. But first things first. The writer and director is Robert Budreau from Canada and this movie runs for roughly 95 minutes. In the center of it all is musician Chet Baker, played competently by Ethan Hawke. I would not call it a biopic because it really does not focus on the early years and also not on the late years, basically it's all about the time when his career is in danger and we see how he does (not) manage to get back on trail. Oscar nominee Hawke once again proves here that he is lead actor material without a doubt, also when it's not Richard Linklater in charge of things. His female co-lead is Carmen Ejogo and she is really good as well. It's that kind of performance that gets nominated for a Supporting Oscar because of how much screen time she has and how important she is for the film while being actually lead, just not as much of a lead as Hawke obviously. I also believe the two had great chemistry during all their scenes together and that's basically the entire film.I personally felt that something was missing when Ejogo was not on screen for a little while like towards the end for example before she returns and makes it a really great ending, somewhat of an unhappy ending I suppose, even if there is of course a success component to it. The only scene I did not like with the two was really the bed scene as the parallels between sex and playing the trumpet / making music ("hold that note the entire night") were a bit on the embarrassing side they were depicted there. But it's all good. It is just subjective anyway and I pretty much liked the entire rest, even if the film somewhat lacks truly great moments. It is a good watch for 1.5 hours nonetheless. And this comes from somebody who is not even that much into trumpet music at all.Now back to my very early comment. Why did it take so long for the film to make it to German theaters. I suppose it is that general audiences here will have no clue at all who Chet Baker was. This certainly does not include people who like his kind of music and I have heard that he is considered one of the greatest trumpet players ever. Hell I have even read somebody say he is the greatest musician ever. But it is always a toughie with films about musicians, not just here in Germany, but also in general, also in the US. Even those films that get the best reception by awards bodies and critics like "Walk the Line" or "Ray" and others do not reach box office numbers that truly make a difference and motivate people to make more films about musicians. And don't get me started on films about musicians that weren't really that famous. Does anybody remember Kevin Spacey or Dustin Hoffman or Forest Whitaker for the legendary musicians they portrayed? Things probably aren't looking much better with films about fictitious musicians like Llewyn Davis, even if masters like the Coen Bros are in charge. It's a heavy subject for general audiences. There are many many people in the Rock'n Roll Hall of Fame whose music is still loved and remembered today and they will probably never get a biopic about them. Oh my, I cannot even think about (non-documentary) films about Elvis or the Beatles.Now back to this movie we have here. I liked it and all my criticisms are really just minor. For example, I would have liked more and crucial inclusions of the color blue if they go with this title. Admittedly the title is also a good choice in terms of describing Baker's final decision against his girl and for the drugs. He took the blue path. There is no denying that as a whole this film has a lot more positive to offer compared to the negative and I would agree that this is certainly one of the more overlooked movies of the year, even if I can somewhat understand why given the subject. This does not justify it though. You may want to work against that tendency and check out "Born to Be Blue". Like myself, you don't even need a special interest in Chet Baker or trumpets to appreciate this one. Liking Ethan Hawke as much as I do will certainly help things too. Go see it.

ifet I was going to say initially that Ethan Hawke was miscast, but since this is a work of fiction it does not matter. It is a story of a trumpeter addicted to heroin, who together with his lady friend struggles to establish a career. But Chet Baker has nothing to do with it. Kevin Turcotte played all his solos, and I particularly liked the piano of David Braid, who I had seen in Toronto. There is no mention or reference to Chet's association with Gerry Mulligan the baritone sax player and their pianoless quartet which became world famous. The trumpeter in this story was beaten by a drug dealer and his cronies, so badly that his teeth were purposely knocked out and of course we all know this is what regrettably happened to the real Chet. I heard Chet Baker on Music for Moderns on the radio in the 60s in England and I was fascinated by him and his sound. Happily I can say I have much of the important music he created in my CD collection. And today computer to stereo 20 ft away via Apple Airport Express wirelessly.... Russ Freeman on piano, with Chet playing "Bea's Flat"simply blew my mind. I mean the original 1953 recording version with Larry Bunker on drums (not the Boston 1954 later version). Listen to that and you will hear amazing melodic and inventive trumpet at medium tempo with piano bass and drums, and for any trumpeter reading this I challenge you to play it. I am a jazz fan, Chet was a jazz trumpet man I can never forget... from Malcolm Hopkinson in Toronto Aug 2016

Gordon-11 This film tells the story of a great jazz musician, who has an addiction to heroin. He tries to stay clean and get back into the music world, but doors don't reopen easily."Born to Be Blue" tells a heart wrenching story of a man who lives through tough times. He gets tremendous support from his wife, and their relationship is positive and touching. He works hard to make a comeback, and I find it so touching.The songs in the film are very good. I wonder if Ethan Hawke does all the singing, because he has this soothing voice which almost makes him the new Michael Buble. I enjoyed watching the film.