As much as I am a huge fan of films that permit us to peer into the soul of the tortured artist, I just found too much in this film that fails from simple craft (if anything about film craft really is simple), and yet it left me elated in a few fleeting scenes.
There were some frankly tedious montage sequences that left me scratching my head and asking "Why"? Take a look at the opening if you want to see one clear instance of this.
To pick it to death, look at some of the appalling attempts at what should have been pure craft, and yet seem to be more about bad digital manipulation in post production. Again in the opening - there was blatant under and over cranking of the camera that say nothing visually and leave you with the feeling that there must have been some big holes in the film's material to leave these in the released version.
Too often actors were shown on screen clearly missing their lighting marks or with ridiculous levels of incidental props obscuring them, in ways that made me wonder sometimes if a blind Director or Director of Photography were making a film about a deaf Musician.
And yet, for all these complaints (or observations) we were treated to a truly transcendent moment in the premiere of Beethoven's 9th - and the sensual ballet that is usually one between the conductor and the orchestra, in this film we are offered this dance between the composer and his ersatz muse. It goes without saying that the sexual overtones are palpable.
In the final analysis, I cannot suggest anything other than this film is an accidental must see. Howver if possible, watch it on a DVD with a great sound system. Its is worth watching the whole flawed arrangement for this one, almost perfect gem of a scene.
My commiserations to the film maker if we are given a less than accurate representation of your vision from this film.
My sincerest expressions of regret, for what a more talented film maker could have done with this material, if this really was your intended piece.
There were some frankly tedious montage sequences that left me scratching my head and asking "Why"? Take a look at the opening if you want to see one clear instance of this.
To pick it to death, look at some of the appalling attempts at what should have been pure craft, and yet seem to be more about bad digital manipulation in post production. Again in the opening - there was blatant under and over cranking of the camera that say nothing visually and leave you with the feeling that there must have been some big holes in the film's material to leave these in the released version.
Too often actors were shown on screen clearly missing their lighting marks or with ridiculous levels of incidental props obscuring them, in ways that made me wonder sometimes if a blind Director or Director of Photography were making a film about a deaf Musician.
And yet, for all these complaints (or observations) we were treated to a truly transcendent moment in the premiere of Beethoven's 9th - and the sensual ballet that is usually one between the conductor and the orchestra, in this film we are offered this dance between the composer and his ersatz muse. It goes without saying that the sexual overtones are palpable.
In the final analysis, I cannot suggest anything other than this film is an accidental must see. Howver if possible, watch it on a DVD with a great sound system. Its is worth watching the whole flawed arrangement for this one, almost perfect gem of a scene.
My commiserations to the film maker if we are given a less than accurate representation of your vision from this film.
My sincerest expressions of regret, for what a more talented film maker could have done with this material, if this really was your intended piece.