Mi amor inmortal

Bernard Rose's superior film about the life of Ludwig van Beethoven takes as its central premise a mention in the composer's will of an 'immortal beloved', identity unknown. So far, so intriguing.

With the casting of versatile British actor Gary Oldman as Beethoven, there was potential for a lot of depth of character (which we get, as the passage of time convinces throughout as Beethoven moves from skirt-chasing youth to crabby and deaf old age).

Also impressive within the cast are Jeroen Krabbé as Schindler, Johanna ter Steege as Johanna Reiss, and Isabella Rossellini as Anna Marie Erdody. What could have been a stodgy film is buoyed up greatly by their presence, but it is the central performance of Oldman which counts (he really is a peerless performer of real-life characters - Sid Vicious, Joe Orton, Lee Harvey Oswald ...).

My only gripe would be that the music is sometimes given short shrift, but when it is there, it is wonderful. You get the emotional impact in the snatches of sonatas, symphonies and concertos you hear - but it would have been nice to acknowledge that the film was about a creative artist and musician and let us hear a bit more of his work!

This is the most creatively written historical fiction I've seen since Amadeus. Writer/director Bernard Rose did a fantastic job of piecing together scraps of history and filling in the blanks with an outrageously clever theory. Make no mistake; this is NOT a biopic. So don't think you can cram for tomorrow's Beethoven exam by watching this movie... your teacher will flunk you right out of the conservatory.

But if you approach this film as a sort of "conspiracy theory", and if you have a reasonable--but not too precise--familiarity with the facts of Beethoven's life, you will be very entertained, shocked and intrigued at the story.

Real quick historical synopsis: In papers found posthumously, Beethoven did indeed mention an "immortal beloved", much to the surprise of the world which thought him to be a solitary soul. The identity of this person has vexed historians for centuries, and speculation has been the cause of many a knock-down, drag-out fight amongst them (those historians can be pret-ty feisty). Here we have a possible explanation which pulls together several interesting episodes from Beethoven's life and weaves them into a believable plot. The historians can duke it out whilst we can enjoy the show.

Gary Oldman, as always, delivers a fantastic performance which elevates this film to classic status. Sure, there are flaws in this film, but nothing that cannot be overlooked in light of the acting and of course the music. My only gripe is that the film focuses very heavily on plot (and rightly so, I guess), but in so doing, it sacrifices the poetry of the situation. We rarely get a good, quiet, reflective moment where we can look into the tortured soul of the composer. Instead we get plenty of fiery episodes and situational drama, which is good but can leave us exhausted after a while.

Contrast this with the film Amadeus which breaks up the action with carefully crafted monologues and time to breathe & reflect. "Immortal Beloved" can seem like a fast paced action flick compared to that--but again I suppose the complex plot demands it. This is really a minor criticism. Although Amadeus needn't worry about losing its place in my list of best movies ever, Immortal Beloved is certainly worthy of playing in the same league.

I can't believe I missed this gem at the movies, Oldman is just brilliant, his sheer charisma and presence in some scenes take the attention immediately and unfairly from others without him uttering a word first. The only fault I could find with this beautifully directed movie, was not enough of Beethovens music, the only time we really get to hear it fully is the wonderful scene at the end with his ninth symphony. The scene as well of a young Beethoven fleeing from his drunken father, and then floating in the pool of stars as the choral part of the symphony erupts, bought me to tears and will remain with me forever. The movie is incredible and the Academy awards should collectively hang their heads in shame for being so dull not to see this movie as worthy of even being nominated due to its silly rules, or for never recognising Oldman then or since for the wonderful and great English actor that he truly is.

I loved this in the theatre and recently purchased it on video.

Gary Oldman portrays Beethoven with all the warts, near-madness, rage and passion intact. Unlovable almost, except for the sympathy and compassion engendered by his deafness which humanizes him.

The music is wonderful here and tries to explain the emotions behind the man.

The McGuffin of the plot hinges on a letter that was never received by his "immortal beloved". I may have missed something along the way, but how did the narrator of the story get the letter ? That point aside, this is a well done story and captures the era perfectly. I

believe Prague was used for the setting and it is beautiful. This movie could be a matched set to "Beethoven Lives Upstairs" another film which captures his turbulence and frustration and the triumph of his composition of his 9th.

An 8 out of 10 for a very enjoyable movie.

Once again, a film of such glory fell on deaf ears - no pun intended - in this country. I have spent hours reading reviews on this film, stating how awful it was, because it was not true to the real Beethoven's life.... Well, I believe that early on in my life, I learned about some- thing called "Poetic License"....and, in fact, this film IS, basically, a poem. The movie is BASED on a letter that Beethoven actually DID write, to his mystery lover. No one knows, for sure, who the woman really was. And, this is simply a beautiful interpretation of someone's dream of who she COULD'VE been.

This was regarded as an AWFUL thing to do, by many Beethoven authorities - and by people who simply DOUBTED.

Yet, what went overlooked because of these critics' lack of open-mindedness - was an exquisite blend of glorious music, and SUPREME acting.

Once again, Mr. Oldman gave a performance like no other actor in the world can quite match. His style, sensitivity, and

genius as the Tragic Beethoven, was magnificent.

Jeroen Krabbe's portrayal of Anton Schindler, Beethoven's friend and champion - was marvelous.

Johanna ter Steege - who portrayed Johanna, Beethoven's sister- in-law - was exquisite. Why did they ignore HER? It would've been nice to have her stay here, rather than return to her Dutch homeland - to become a major motion picture star, as well. She had one special attribute - she could ACT.

The sets, costuming, sound, and editing were all BEAUTIFUL. But the film was ignored.

Above all, however, Gary Oldman's performance ranked among the best in the world - but it, too, was ignored.

Give the film another chance. It deserves FAR more than it GOT. It was, simply, beautiful...