Nannerl, la soeur de Mozart

I didn't know what to expect with the movie Mozart's Sister, but I was surprised - it was very good - even watching it with subtitles.

The movie gives a very believable and intimate picture of father Leopold Mozart's young family - with prodigies Wolfgang at age 11 and older sister Anna Maria (Nannerl) at 14 - and mainly involves their travels seeking musical glory. It has all the stuff you'd expect in a 1760's family including musical practice, family fun and playful laughter, adventures, and also Wolfgang and Nannerl's wish to compose. Good script, well paced and interesting plot, and a focus on Nannerl make this a winner. I might watch it again!

My Rank: 8 / 10.

Stop me if you've heard this one before: Mozart, that legendary impresario, had an sibling who actually helped write a lot of his early work, and got precisely no credit for it... due to the sexist society at the time. She was also a brilliant violinist, but was forced to play the harpsichord by her father as the violin 'was no instrument for a lady.' Meanwhile, everyone mooned over her brother, the 'child prodigy', leaving her completely in the shade. In fact, a lot of what she could have achieved she didn't thanks to the patriarchal beliefs back in the 18th century, and by the sound of the epilogue she had a pretty miserable life after she gave up on all her hopes and dreams. Nice.

How much of this has a basis in reality I don't know, but I suspect there's a fair bit of airbrushing of history here. What can't be denied though, is this is a well acted drama of family ties and unfulfilled potential, full of wonderful classical music and handsome costumes. This is strictly a placid affair... You're not going to see any fireworks going off, and some people may find it all a bit too stagy. But Nannerl is a captivating lead, and while her story might not be 100% accurate as depicted here, it's well worth investing the nearly two hours to discover it. And isn't that really what matters, at the end of the day? 6/10

I found "Mozart's Sister" on Amazon Prime Video to stream for free. I'm a musician myself of almost a decade playing guitar, bass, and drums. Several years ago in high school I was in an advanced choir that covered some of Mozart's work. Since then I was always fascinated with Mozart. Who was he, why was he such a musical genius? Why did he die so young? The history and sound of Mozart continues to fascinate me and when I seen this film on Amazon Prime, I had to check it out.

Mozart's Sister revolves around the story of Nannerl Mozart (Maria Anna Mozart), the older sister of the musical genius that is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Despite my fascination and reading into Mozart, I knew nothing of him having a sister. I watched this film all in French with English subtitles, but that didn't hurt the quality of the film. Mozart's Sister is a great film. The camera work, costumes, music, and the works, all 110% authentic. There are no visible flaws of any kind in the film work.

The whole movie revolves around a teenage/young adult Maria Anna Mozart. We get to see how she herself was a magnificent instrumentalist and composer that nearly rivaled her brothers musical abilities. But because of sexism and social status in mid 1700's Europe, she was often pushed aside and disregarded in favor for her brother's work. We also get to see the rest of the Mozart family, Mozart's father who taught them music and his mother.

All and all I enjoyed this film. But I will say, it's not for everybody. If you're not into Mozart or his history, foreign films with subtitles, or movies about mid-1700 music, then maybe you should pass. This does feel like something you would watch in a schoolroom more than something you would watch on a Friday night. Also, "Mozart's Sister" has it's dull moments at times, and the movie never really evolves into anything more than Marianne's early years. We don't get to see her grow up, go through her brothers death later in life, or anything along those lines. I felt if we got to see more of her older life it would have been more grabbing. Still, good movie, average rating of 7/10, good movie with great cinematic/sound work, good acting, just had a few low points that stopped it from being a great movie.

It seems very tempting, Mozart's Sister – the opportunity of another 18th century costume picture, this one from France – produced, written and directed by René Féret. For those who enjoy historical fiction, the film poses as yet one more chance to unlock the doors and peer into the family closets of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. After all, it's been twenty-seven years since the spectacular emergence of director Milos Forman's Amadeus, which gathered eight Oscars, including Best Picture – as well as for the author of its screenplay, Peter Shaffer, adapting and shaping his multi-Tony Award-winning theatrical masterpiece into iconic cinematic genius. Since the 1984 premiere of Amadeus, business continues to boom in the Mozart industry; a chance at playing either of the Leading Roles of the so-called "rivals" – Mozart and (the nearly forgotten and second-rate) composer Antonio Salieri – continue to inflame the ambitions of many a stage actor; and a recent release of the film into Blu-Ray format proves that Amadeus is here to stay and guaranteed a re-incarnation into whatever format is on the horizon. Mozart's Sister is destined for landfill.

Amadeus and Mozart's Sister are both of the "re-imagined" variety. In other words, for its authors, Truth is but an adjunct to Creative License. Re-imagining the adventures of the Mozart family begins somewhere in a flurry of sheet music, ribbon-bound letters, yellowing diaries, and stories heard around any Music Conservatory. Somewhere in this reverie, René Féret and Peter Shaffer both employ the same controlling gimmick — "I coulda been somebody!" For Shaffer, Salieri knows his musical gifts are lacking, but the Viennese Court doesn't know it until Mozart suddenly shows up. According to Féret, Mozart's sister Nannerl believes that – had she been born as Wolfgang's brother – they might have become the first European Dynamic Duo. No need for Certitude here. "Re-imagined" needs just a few facts and figures, but the finished product requires the entertainment value of Barnum & Bailey. Mozart's Sister wouldn't qualify for a side show.

René Féret's shooting script of Mozart's Sister cannot avoid comparison to Amadeus. Peter Shaffer nurtured his idea through the disciplines of live Theatre. The structure and rhythm of his re-imagined Amadeus is developed through much rehearsal and three continuous years on Broadway before he re-vamps the script for Hollywood. By contrast, Féret's end product is a plodding, witless and gloomy bore. His treatment of the premise that Nannerl Mozart is a suppressed and thwarted genius composer with Box Office appeal similar to that of her brother's – is limp and void of artistic climax. Likewise, there's no satisfaction to be had in the tedious and anemic performances rendered by Féret's daughters – Marie as "Nannerl" and Lisa as "Louise of France".

Salieri, on the other hand, would applaud Mozart's Sister for its inherent mediocrity.

It's difficult for me to see a film like this as a professional musician without seeing red at the same time. No, I'm not expecting a slavish rehash of history - far from it -but it wandered so far from reality as to remind me of films such as "Song to Remember" with Cornel Wilde swinging through the grapevines and playing the frail, tubercular Chopin at the same time.

Leopold Mozart, despite the general feeling that he pushed his children unmercifully, was actually trying to help his children become established in the world and to prevent his son from squandering his money as he was always tempted to do. In fact poor Wolfgang was buried in a pauper's grave after his father died.

The music in the film is another bone of contention. Instead of using something from the immense amount of music Wolfgang composed as background, it substituted a fake Classical imitation with romantic harmonies and orchestration that really wasn't good to begin with.

As for the ultra-low lighting we associate with "le film noir' or crime shows currently on television, we had to depend too often on dialog alone to guide us through what was happening. I realize that filming interiors with candles was period but even people sitting next to them were mainly in the dark. I know this is handy for not having to provide full period sets in detail but still I felt cheated.

This is a French work, nonetheless, and as so many French films are prone to do, it talks itself to death.

Curtis Stotlar