What's being communicated? I've never seen the film, so it's hard to tell exactly what, but the student is more interested in the teacher than she is the piece of music. Not sure if that interest is attraction, fear, or awe....

Does the last scene of Stanley Tucci's Big Night qualify as non-verbal dialogue?

Here is the full scene with Liv Ullmann playing the piano and it offers a bit more context. Unfortunately without subtitles but it is not really needed. The scene makes more sense when watched in its entirety: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUUBe9LXfYg Here is an amazing example of non-verbal “dialogue.” A daughter struggles through a Chopin prelude while her mother, a world-famous concert pianist looks on disapprovingly. The mother then proceeds to tell her the meaning of the piece and shows her how it's supposed to be played. The daughter looks on in awe. A lifetime of disunity, disappointments, pity, misunderstandings and struggles between a mother and daughter is communicated through mere facial expressions. Great subtext in the dialogue and even greater through fantastic non-verbal acting. In my opinion some of the finest acting ever captured on film. After the daughter is done playing, she asks her mother “Did you like it?” and the mother answers “I liked you.” Talk about subtext. We have just witnessed a wide range of conflicting emotions on the mother's face as she was listening to the piece, and it is obvious that she's not happy. The daughter catches on immediately and asks “What did I do wrong?” to which the mother replies “You didn't do anything wrong.” and in a great piece of acting, Ingrid Bergman says it all with her body language (sipping the coffee.) “I guess you didn't like the way I played this prelude.” the daughter says, “Well, we're all entitled to our own opinions.” replies the mother. Interpreting a classical piece of music is all about choices. Just like we make choices in life, some are bound to clash with those around us. Here, the daughter will never live up to her mother's expectations. As the mother explains Chopin's intentions and how the prelude should be performed, the daughter slowly realizes that the two of them will never see eye to eye on how to live their lives. Too much turbulence has occurred between them and as the piece ends, they both sit facing the same material (the sheet music, the piano, life) and realize how different they are. The subtitles read “I see.” What she actually says is “I understand.” That is a stronger word. “I see” can be interpreted as “I see your point, but I disagree.” “I understand” means just that; an understanding. There is no doubt after this showdown. Notice the angle of their faces. The mother looks straight ahead, with confidence that she is right. The daughter looks at her from the side, studying her. The fact that one is wearing green and the other red is no accident either. Two colors that couldn't be any more different. During the Deep Focus project earlier this year and on many other occasions, Scott talked about the importance of watching the classics and studying the great filmmakers in history. At the same time, the “cultural vegetables” debate was raging among some critics. If this is cultural vegetables, then serve me up a giant portion! I can't think of a better example than Ingmar Bergman when it comes to learning how to write subtext and writing about relationships. He was truly a master.

I haven't seen the movie. I'm not a fan of Ingmar Bergman. I looked at Liv's face as Ingrid plays the piano and tried to figure out what she expressed. * "I love you, but don't dare to tell". * "You have missed something important in live being so hatefull and arrogant". If I had seen the whole movie I could probably tell more about the situation and Liv's character. Now I find it almost amusing how little can be told out of its context. I've read about a director who used the same shot of an actors face in three different situations in the same movie: eating soup, standing infront of his dead father and a third which I unfortunaty have forgotten. The actor was praised for his splendid acting. And Ingrid Bergman's face when she sees Bogart in Casablanca is an empty face, since they hadn't decided how it should end and if she should be pleased or not. At least this is what I've read in printed books on the subject.