Tenor: My Name is Pati Film Review
Summary: A heart-warming documentary about Samoan tenor, Pene Pati. This film is as bright as both his humble personality and his sparkling voice.
4.3
Music Man!
“Tenor: My Name is Pati” is an uplifting documentary that encourages us all to dream big. It is the story of an unlikely tenor named Pene Pati. It describes his humble beginnings in Samoa and how he carved out his own pathway to now grace the stages of the most famous Opera Houses in the world.
Director Rebecca Tansley is no stranger to making arts documentaries. She previously made “The Heart Dances” about a ballet adaptation of Jane Campion’s “The Piano.” Here, she brings her expert documentarian eye to telling a story full of sensitivity, warmth, and family.
Tenor Pene Pati was born in Samoa to a large, close-knit family. They eventually migrated to New Zealand in search of opportunity and for a better life. It was a very modest upbringing where they encountered poverty and racism. But Pati would overcome this by getting his start while singing at church and with his family at an aged care home. Pati has lived a life full of service to others.
While in high school, Pati played in the rugby team. But the music department needed some more singers for their production of “HMS Pinafore.” And in short, a star was born. From there, Pati would form the Sol3 Mio popera group with his brother Amitai (another leading tenor who features in this film) and their cousin Moses Mackay. The original idea was to do some fundraising to enable the family (including his wife, soprano Amina Edris) to go to opera school overseas, but it snowballed from there into hit tours and best-selling albums.
This is not only a film for people who love opera. While there are lots of pitch-perfect performances including a clip of “Nessun Dorma,” this is also a story brimming with real heart. It is one of family and resilience. It is a truly inspirational one, as Pati realises his dream despite encountering naysayers who told him he could not do it. And he did it all with a big smile on his face, and all while staying true to his roots.
“Tenor: My Name is Pati” is a documentary that looks at a man who will one day be viewed as the Pavarotti of our generation. It is a candid tale full of reflection and home videos that chronicle the journey from the church to the acclaimed opera houses of Europe and America. Pati’s ultimately one very humble and funny character with a voice as bright and sparkling as his ebullient personality. It is not often that documentaries do their subject justice, but this one certainly does so by capturing the essence of this big presence with something that oozes charisma at every take.
About the Author
Natalie Salvo Natalie is a Sydney-based writer and lover of all things music, food, photography comedy, art, theatre. You can find her digging in crates at good record stores.
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