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Review by Jack Kost
Music is the mediator
between the spiritual and the sensual life.
– Ludwig van Beethoven.
This
was an easy movie for me to love, because I’ve always loved Beethoven’s music.
I
first heard Moonlight Sonata when I was a young kid and couldn’t get it
out of my head.
As
I heard more, I quickly became a fan.
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In
Immortal Beloved (1994), Ludwig van Beethoven wrote a last will and
testament, leaving everything to his “Immortal Beloved”, but doesn’t name her
specifically in the letter.
The
identity of Beethoven’s true love and heir is still speculated to this day.
Immortal
Beloved, directed and written by Bernard Rose, offers a possible theory as to
how it might have been.
The
movie opens with Beethoven (Gary Oldman), at the moment of his death.
Lightning
flashes illuminate his face and coincide with the powerful opening of
Beethoven’s majestic Fifth Symphony, booming on the soundtrack.
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The
opening credits and music rise as Beethoven’s coffin is carried out of his home
and through crowded streets.
Anton
Schindler (Jeroen Krabbé), Beethoven’s – at times – long-suffering secretary
and biographer, reads his eulogy at the graveside:
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Anton
Schindler:
“Ludwig
van Beethoven, the man who inherited and increased the immortal fame of Handel
and Bach, of Haydn and Mozart, is now no more.
He
was an artist, and who will stand beside him?
He
was an artist, and what he was, he was only through music.
The
thorns of life had wounded him deeply, so he held fast to his art, even when
the gate through which it entered was shut.
Music
spoke through a deafened ear to he who could no longer hear it.
He
carried the music in his heart.
Because
he shut himself off from the world, they called him hostile.
They
said he was unfeeling, and called him callous.
But
he was not hard of heart.
It
is the finest blades that are most easily blunted, bent or broken.
He
withdrew from his fellow man after he had given them everything, and had
received nothing in return.
He
lived alone, because he found no second self.
Thus
he was, thus he died.
Thus
he will live for all time.”
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While
fending off aggressive money-grubbers, grasping for the inheritance, Schindler
travels through Austria.
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His
personal mission is to seek out the women involved with Beethoven, discover the
identity of the rightful recipient, and deliver the letter to her.
During
his quest, he meets and interviews Giulietta Guicciardi (Valeria Golino),
Anna-Marie Erdödy (Isabella Rossellini), Johanna Reiss (Johanna ter Steege) and
Nanette Streicherova (Miriam Margolyes), the owner of a hotel where Beethoven
stayed and trashed the room.
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We
learn about Beethoven’s childhood at the hands of his brutish father.
His
progressive deafness.
Failing
health.
Reclusiveness.
His
failed attempt to mentor his nephew, Karl (Marco Hofschneider), possibly
wishing to vicariously experience success again.
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The
supporting cast includes:
Gerard
Horan, Christopher Fulford, Michael Culkin, Barry Humphries, Alexandra Pigg,
Geno Lechner, and Claudia Solti.
Immortal
Beloved
was released on December 16, 1994,
coinciding
with Ludwig van Beethoven’s birthday: December 16, 1770.
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Gary
Oldman’s performance, as Beethoven, is intense and faultless.
Oldman
is a talented character actor, possessing a chameleon ability to transform
himself, physically and psychologically, into any role he portrays.
He
becomes the part.
I
watch Oldman in this movie, and I feel like I’m watching the real Beethoven.
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There
are many unforgettable scenes: Beethoven resting his head on the piano, as he
plays Moonlight Sonata … the Ode to Joy debut … the young
Beethoven, floating in the shallows of the lake, the night sky reflected in the
water, giving the illusion that he is suspended in the universe.
Since
its release, Immortal Beloved has been compared with Amadeus
(1984), directed by Miloš Forman, another fictionalized drama about Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart.
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I
also enjoyed Amadeus.
However,
I can’t compare it to Immortal Beloved.
These
are two separate movies, about different composers, made by different
directors.
No
matter whether the events depicted are historically accurate, or not, Immortal
Beloved is the perfect merging of several genres: romance, love story, biopic,
mystery, drama, tragedy.
The
one question I was left with, a question that negates the theory of this movie,
was why Beethoven didn’t go after Johanna Reiss after he arrived at the hotel
and discovered she had left.
Beethoven
could have followed her, even after venting and trashing the room.
That
out of his system, he could have simply followed Johanna back to her home,
caught up with her, and explained what happened during his journey and the
reason for his late arrival.
The
circumstances were out of Beethoven’s control.
I’m
sure Johanna would have understood.
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The
mystery remains unsolved, but the movie is still a beautifully filmed drama
from Mel Gibson's Icon production company.
An
engaging, enthralling, and moving experience, with flawless performances
throughout, and superb cinematography.
Like
Ridley Scott’s The Duellists (1977), another true story of the
Napoleonic era, the attention to period detail and costume design takes the
viewer back in time to Beethoven’s world.
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On
a trivia note, Beethoven’s music is also a major theme of A Clockwork Orange
(1971), directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on the novel by Anthony Burgess.
The
Thieving Magpie,
by Gioachino Rossini, is also on the soundtrack.
Beethoven’s
Ode to Joy is also covered on the soundtrack to Die Hard (1988),
directed by John McTiernan.
Beethoven’s
music can also be heard in: A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), The
Breakfast Club (1985), Dead Poets Society (1989), Mr. Holland’s
Opus (1995), and The King’s Speech (2010), and A Ghost
Story (2017).
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Ludwig
van Beethoven was a genius.
An
artist, driven to create by composing and expressing himself through music.
His
brilliance is reflected in his work.
Work
that has endured over centuries.
In
the majestic music he gave to the world.
Created
as he battled with his own flaws, inner demons, physical disability, and
worsening health.
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Finally,
if the theory presented in this movie is accurate, Immortal Beloved is
the story of love lost and rediscovered, even though too late for those
involved.
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As
Dylan Thomas wrote:
Though
lovers be lost, love shall not;
and
death shall have no dominion.
Ludwig van Beethoven
December 16, 1770 –
March 26, 1827
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