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Amos Lassen wrote on 02/14/2011:

“Four Minutes”
Emotional and Thought Provoking
Amos Lassen
Wolfe Video is getting ready for the release of a major hit---“Four Minutes”. This is a really wonderful film with two outstanding performances and the rest of the movie is equally as good.
Set in a women’s prison in Germany, we get a look at the drama and characters that are locked within. Here is a movie with real depth in which a relationship develops and the pasts of the characters influence actions and a new trust is built. The title refers to an amazing film sequence which I cannot give away.
The movie begins simply as an interesting story of an elderly woman who teachers piano in prisons. She sees great potential in one girl who also happens to be an especially violent inmate. When piano lessons are given to her, they consist merely are simple. Yet as the girl learns to play the piano we see untamed violence and genius. It seems to me that the piano teacher with her older age, classical background and closeted lesbianism represents the inactiveness (or better yet the death) of emotion. From a different point of view, the inmate with her violent nature and the fact that she plays the piano minus emotional depth represents the genius of youth.
The idea behind the movie—a meeting between two women who both love music but who each suffer terrible traumas—is a good idea. When the young pianist tells of her time in the hospital giving birth to her son, the two women begin to relate to each other.
When Jenny, the inmate participates in and wins a piano recital, we see the emotional side of both of the characters. The film weaves the past and the present together—the past of the teacher deals with the Nazi reign of terror which helps explain her nature. The film also shows how important rehabilitation of prisoners is. They need to be given a goal in life and a dream of a better world.
As I watched the film, I was literally held spellbound. Beginning slowly, the contrast of silence and slow pace held my interest because I felt there was soon going to be a change. The depth of the film is absolutely engaging and to me it was obviously meant to disturb and throw clichés and stereotypes into a state of confusion. Someone with passion and talent must be encouraged to cultivate their own skills. The student had a life that was devoid of a sense of balance. Sharing her life with another woman who could teach her something gave her a purpose. The teacher is curt, laconic and strict with no tolerance for bad manners and in the beginning refuses to take on the student. She realizes later that the inmate is very talented and agrees to take her on. The student also has a troubled past and this is what makes her so angry. This especially is shown in the choice of music that she prefers. Nonetheless the two form a bond and what was conflict becomes friendship. “Four Minutes” is a powerful film that manages to hold the viewer throughout. The shortcomings can be overlooked.