Tuesday, September 21, 2010
STUDY
Today's film was
It is a follow on for the same kind of search for Mozart which, for some reason, is not available at Netflix while this later one is.
It is way ambitious and mostly succeeds. There are a lot of "best of" performances and interviews, talking heads, which are pretty good. The performances are sturdy.
They interweave the chronology of the music and the life which is pretty well known but there is depth here and a greater opportunity to understand Beethoven's emotional life and situation. They use his letters to good effect. We hear from his own thoughts and feelings.
Musically, it is necessarily made up of "selections" which I am against but in two hours we would only get to see and hear two or three sonatas. Snippets are essential. And they pick very good ones.
I liked it. It got a bit longish at the end and I was ready for him to die and for them to play the Ninth Symphony which, of course, is an obligatory ending.
It was thrilling and chill inducing nonetheless. He wore his soul on his sleeve. This work helps us see how much and how deeply.
I would be happy to see the film again so I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.
Labels: films
