I had seen the preview of this movie at my local independent movie theatre for quite some time, and had begun to wonder whether the movie would actually come to Cincinnati, but this past weekend the movie finally opened here, and I did not wait long t go see this, as I imagine this will not play very long (and the DVD is coming out soon as well)."Mozart's Sister" (original title: "Nannerl, La Soeur de Mozart"; 2010 release from France; 120 min.) brings a look in the life of 15 year old Mari Anna (nicknamed Nannerl) Mozart. She is 5 years older than her brother and wunderkind Wolfgang, but Nannerl certainly has certain musical talents as well, in particular in playing the harpsichord. But it is not until after a chance meeting with the recently-widowed Dauphin of France that he encourages her to start developing her own composing talents. Alas, that is not the way her father sees is. There are some further turns and twists but I will let you discover those yourself.
Please note: this movie proceeds at glacial speed, and I mean this as a complement. It reflects, among other things, life in the late 18th century when things simply moved a lot slower and there was not a whole lot to do to entertain one-self. I found it refreshing, to be honest. Also note: if you are not a fan of classical music, you are probably not going to like this movie, as classical music is front-and-center all over. It appears that people in those circles really didn't have a whole lot more to do than to play or listen to classical music. The harpsichord is delightfully featured prominently throughout the movie. Last but not least there are the tremendous performances, none more so than Marie Feret as the title character (not sure if she is related to the director of this movie, Rene Feret), but check out also Lisa Feret (again, no idea whether related to either Mmarie or Rene Feret) as Louise of France. In all, I found this movie refreshing and insightful, but this is definitely not for anyone in a hurry. Highly recommended!
The movie transported me...to the eighteenth century in a way that "Amadeus" did not. Whereas "Amadeus" is spectacle, this gentle film takes place in the drawing rooms or homes of the nobility. It is the time when Mozart's father, Leopold, is dragging his two amazing children throughout Europe to show them off, to improve his son's musical education, and to advance his own thwarted ambitions. Needless to say, the photography, the costumes, and the music are a delight. I adored the film, yet was saddened by its theme. Bottom line, this is the most underrated film of 2011.
Marie Feret who plays the 16 year old sister of Wolfgang is a wonder. How does she do it? Understatement. She conveys emotions all through her eyes shyness, laughter, intelligence, joy, anxiety, and alas...disappointment. [The director actually used both of his young daughters as actresses in "his film" and gets terrific performances from them]
As for the principal character in the movie, the truth is that Mozart's sister was brilliant and talented but, as a woman, she was forced to take second place to her brother. This is not to say she was the better genius. That is impossible. But her opportunities as a violinist or as a composer were walled in by her domineering father. That she might have been an extraordinary genius at least as a musician is a serious possibility. Let anyone listen to Ginette Neveu's artistry as a violinist on a CD recording and compare her mastery of the instrument to any living violinist...and you will see what I mean.
Important scenes are the interaction of Mozart's sister with one of the princesses of France. The princess is locked away in a convent and befriends the talented young girl. The princess learns to accept her role as a bride of Christ and to find joy and contentment as an obedient nun. But Nannerl, the sister of Mozart, is different from other girls. Her heart and mind beg her to create; her society and father simply won't allow it.
When I saw this wonderful film in the movie theater, I noted that two older women in the audience were crying. I asked them how they felt about the experience of seeing "Mozart's Sister." One of the ladies said "I weep for all the women throughout the centuries whose imaginations were suffocated unfairly." A tender person would feel the same way.
There is a moment, just about the end of the film, that summarized everything the filmmaker wanted to convey. Unforgettable.
Buy Mozart's Sister (2011) Now
I loved this movie for reasons stated in above reviews as well: the movie has a beautiful atmosphere that really transports you to that time and that alone makes it well worth viewing. It is one of those rare movies that entraps you and really makes you forget you're watching a movie. The fact that it's about Mozart and his family and features wonderful music played by the two young siblings is the icing on the cake! Lovers of historical accuracy and fact checkers beware you will find fault. But it is really a beautiful, lovely film that should disappoint no one interested in classical music, Mozart, and the time period. Yes, it does move slowly but again this is truly representative of that time period when things moved at a slower pace, not today's fast paced world which only helps to immerse you in the experience!Read Best Reviews of Mozart's Sister (2011) Here
The world may be familiar with the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era and among the few classical composers that continues to be popular today.But many do not know that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who was a music prodigy that played piano and violin at the age of 5, grew up playing as a duo with a musically talented sister named Maria Anna "Nannerl" Mozart.
Unfortunately, we do not hear too much about Nannerl. Reason being is that during that era in time, women, no matter how talented they were musically, were not seen as equals to men. Their status was lower and men thought that women just were not capable of having talent like men, may it be playing music or composing. In fact, women were just seen as housewives, nothing more, nothing less.
In 2010, screenwriter/filmmaker Rene Feret ("Bapteme", "Solemn Communion") wrote a fictional drama based on the life of Maria Anna Mozart.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
It's important to note that I am viewing a DVD screener ala DVR, so I am not going to comment on picture quality. I will say that with a Blu-ray and DVD release of "Mozart's Sister" being released, I recommend going for the Blu-ray version for better picture and audio quality.
With that being said, "Mozart's Sister" is presented in widescreen 1:85:1 and audio in French Dolby Digital 5.1 with English subtitles. The cinematography by Benjamin Echazarreta is very good in capturing close-up scenes of emotion but also the lavish costume and set design featured in the film, but most importantly capturing that look and feel of the 1700's. The film is dialogue-driven but there are moments of music and ambience which I'm sure is much more evident on the lossless soundtrack on the Blu-ray release than the DVD version.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
There were no special features on the screener disc provided to us.
JUDGMENT CALL:
Beautifully shot, wonderful costume and set design and a film that classical music fans will enjoy, while others will find it sad knowing that talents of women were suppressed during that era in time.
"Mozart's Sister" is a sad film which writer Rene Feret really did some intriguing writing and craft a story around Nannerl Mozart, a talented musician who had to quit her passion because of the status of women during the 1700's.
While this film is a work of fiction and there is no record that Nannerl and Princess Louise of France corresponded, nor records that she and Louis le Daphin were romantically linked, what we do know is that because of that era in time, women could not really hold a high position in power or status.
For Nannerl, she was talented, she can compose and she can play, but once she reached a certain age (and her father could no longer promote her as a child musical prodigy), it didn't matter how talented she was, she was expected to be a housewife and raise children. While I don't know if there are letters showing her regret of how women were treated at the time, as I am no erudite on Mozart historical records, I often wonder if this was just accepted by women that their status was low and not much was expected of them?
What is known is that Mozart looked up to his older sister and at a young age, wrote works such as "Prelude and Fugue C, K. 394' in 1782 for the two to perform and even sent her copies of his piano concertos. We know that Wolfgang and is father were always at odds, while his sister did everything that her father wished. And while she fell in love with one man, her father turned down his marriage proposal, despite Wolfgang trying to get his sister to stand up for herself.
So, there may be a different from what is featured of Nannerl in reality to what was Nannerl in the film. In the film, Nannerl Mozart walked on the beat of her own drum and not that I would use the word "fearless" but she did what she wanted despite what her father would think. But in reality, it was Wolfgang who walked the beat of his own drum and made his own choices, his sister did what her father asked.
And while the film is quite evident that the message was how unhappy women were that they weren't given the same liberties as men (as both Nannerl and Princess Louise have a conversation about how things would be different if both were born a boy), the sadness I have towards this film was the fact that the talented Nannerl had to give up so much and would never be recognized for her talent because she is a woman.
In reality, things even get worse as she was forced to marry a man who was in his '50s and had children, she died blind, unable to speak and even for her first son Leopold, her father Leopold literally took her son away and raised him. While it is debated of why Leopold raised his grandson and not Nannerl, it is thought that Leopold wanted to raise his grandson in a similar manner to Wolfgang and Nannerl and for him to become a musical genius.
And last, that loving relationship between Wolfgang and Nannerl ended for some unknown reason.
If anything, the more you read about what is out there of Nannerl Mozart, it is quite depressing. At least "Mozart's Sister" would make things a bit dramatic but I wouldn't be surprised if the reality was that Leopold had a tremendous hold over his daughter and literally suppressed all independence from her and that she had no voice whatsoever. She listened to her father and did everything that he wished.
As I watched "Mozart's Sister", you have to give Rene Feret some credit of trying to make Nannerl's life so dramatic. How he came up with the Princess Louise and Louis storyline was out of left field but for the film, it did work.
Feret's film doesn't follow the traditional Hollywood film of a happy ending. We know that Nannerl is not going to be able pursue her life as a musician, we see in her face how unfortunate things are that her younger brother will have all the opportunities and she won't.
While purists and the Mozart erudite may be irritated by this fictional story, and possibly would rather see another film about Wolfgang than his sister, I did enjoy "Mozart's Sister" (although I felt it ran a bit too long for my taste). The cinematography, costume and set design were beautiful, acting could have been better at times but for what its worth, while the film was banal, the fact that filmmaker/screenwriter Rene Feret was able to craft a story around Nannerl Mozart was rather fascinating but definitely opened my eyes and made me want to know more about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his family.
Want Mozart's Sister (2011) Discount?
The premise behind this movie is promising. We know that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had an older sister, Nannerl, who was also a highly accomplished musician and was forced to give up her career when she reached marriagable age. In this biopic, the filmmakers invent a story for her that involves a steamy, if unconsummated, relationship with the Dauphin of France, the heir to the throne. There is no historical basis for such a relationship.The filmmaker's central point seems to have been that because she was a woman, professional doors were closed to poor Nannerl. This is undoubtedly true. This point is hammered home, for those of us too dense to have understood it before, in a conversation between Nannerl and Princess Louise de France, the youngest child of Louis XV. Louise has decided to become a nun, seeing no other way forward. "But think if we had been males!" she says to Nannerl. "I would have ruled through my power and you through your artistry."
Incidentally, the Dauphin depicted in this movie died in 1765. Mozart was born in 1756 and was 11 when this visit supposedly happened, bringing us to 1766. The Mozart family's main sojourn in Paris, when they performed before the Royal, was from November 1763 to April 1764.
I know these details make me sound like a nitpicker and I don't require historical accuracy in movies -otherwise I'd be pretty frustrated all the time. But this one has such a slender grip on the historical record that I could not take it seriously. Additionally, it moved at a sluggish pace and the actors often seemed to be reading rather than speaking their parts.
But the worst offense was the sound quality of the music, which seemed to have been recorded in a padded cell. And the music itself, rather than being Mozart, is a kind of modern, Baroque-style mishmash that sounds pretty in a kind of movie soundtrack way without ever being memorable.
I can accept that Nannerl was undoubtedly a prodigiously gifted musician, as was her tyrannical father Leopold. A few of his works are still played today and have some merit. Perhaps, Nannerl would have equaled him. But there was only one Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
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