'Music from the Inside Out'
Performance notes

A FACELESS MASS of cultured noisemakers in the concert hall, the Philadelphia Orchestra reverts into a band of individuals as David Anker's documentary follows them abroad, offstage, and at home. Away from their tuxedos, the musicians moonlight in jazz, salsa, and bluegrass bands or fulfill themselves running, motorcycling, or painting, as they tell us in talking-head and group interviews. But even the most articulate members (one compares the balancing act of music-making to deciding how far his motorcycle should lean when making a hairpin turn) are most eloquent when their lips are busy with their instruments, especially since they're otherwise saddled with questions like "What is music?" Motoring on the tension between self-immersion in a communal mission and remaining an individual, Music from the Inside Out focuses on parts rather than on a whole, and the commendable approach renders the film centerless; it feels more like a lengthy DVD extra for an absent feature. (Ihsan Amanatullah)