<Li> Sandra Oh--Madame Ming </Li> <Li> Rémy Girard--Customs Agent </Li> <P> The film was inspired by one of the violins of Antonio Stradivari, the 1721 Red Mendelssohn, which features a unique red stripe on its top right side . By the time the film was made, the Red Mendelssohn was owned by Elizabeth Pitcairn, heiress to the PPG fortune, whose grandfather purchased it for her 16th birthday for $1.7 million at auction at Christie's London . Despite rumours and the film, the Red Mendelssohn is varnished with burgundy rather than blood . Stradivarius used red varnish on numerous other violins from 1704 to 1720, the so - called "golden period", and other red - coloured violins besides the Red Mendelssohn survived . </P> <P> Director François Girard opted to make a film about a violin due to his belief that "Making film is making music". The concept of a history of a violin was the starting point, with Girard not initially realizing the project would call for five languages or an unusually large budget . His screenplay, written with Don McKellar, sees the eponymous instrument travel over greater distances, while the years separating each segment become shorter . This suggests a musical structure, though Girard said this was not planned and only developed as he and McKellar continued to write . </P>

The red violin is it a true story