Mrs. Carey's Concert Trailer (2011)

Trailer for Mrs. Carey's Concert.

Pity the poor soul who's charged with instilling passion in the most apathetic creature known: the high-school student. With a Sydney private school's biennial Opera House performance approaching, music director Karen Carey mobilizes the 1,200-girl student body for what she truly believes could be a "life-changing" experience. That is, if she can get any of the girls to give a damn. More often than not, her ardent speeches concerning the power of music are met with dismissive giggles, shrugs or eye-rolls.

Two disparate students share the spotlight in Bob Connolly and Sophie Raymond's engaging documentary. In the role of antagonist, Iris Shi delights in identifying and exploiting her instructors' weaknesses. While violinist Emily Sun is outwardly more compliant--taking on leadership duties and performing an integral solo--she arguably represents an even greater frustration for Carey: she's a technically brilliant musician whose shyness and restraint keeps genuine greatness just beyond her reach. If Emily can finally make an emotional connection with the music, then--for one girl at least--the Opera House concert will be a life-changing event after all.