Ignacio Migueles (ignacio-mig14)
First, I apologize in advance for my English. Now, the filmmakers and professional musicians involved in this documentary doesn't seem to be aware of a little detail when they endlessly talk and fantasize: Mozart didn't write the libretto of his operas. He wrote the music. So when they started talking for like 15 minutes about how he took inspiration from the relationship with his own father to write "Idomeneo" (a Greek myth), how a character of "The Abduction from the Seraglio" is named Constanze like his girlfriend, so the story was representing their relationship, and discuss his philosophical thoughts in "The Magic Flute", I didn't know if laugh or cry. That's the most bizarre flaw of many in this documentary, which title is "In Search of Mozart". Well, you'll never gonna find him that way, my dear filmmakers. Basically, to hide their ignorance about musical facts, what they try to say all the time is: "Look, we've got every single letter Mozart wrote, and we're gonna read it to you in a funny way, even the more intimate ones, so you don't get too bored with all this classical music". Sure, the bad thing is that's all they got. Gossip. In order to "let me know" that he was a common man. They even seem surprised at the fact he didn't have Asperger Syndrome. Right, because to be a gifted person you must have a mental disorder... what a beautiful message. By the way, I don't mind if the man died 200+ years ago, reading ALL his private letters, especially the ones he wrote to his wife about their intimacy, seems totally disrespectful and unnecessary to me. Call me a puritan, I don't care. A cheap move to gain viewers, that's what it is.What came to my mind next watching this was: Shut up, dear musicians, conductors, opera directors and historians, and enjoy the music. And let me do the same. But no, Mozart's music alone is not enough for this people. They're so smart that they try to pretend they have found a logical explanation to it!!! So, what we've got are endless monologues of musicians explaining that Wolfgang wrote that note because his son just died, the other one because his wife was sick, and the last one because a mosquito bite him in that exact instant. For heaven's sake, how on earth could you know that??. What an ego does this people have, to pretend they can be inside of the genius head, just because they can play his music. And some of them couldn't even play a thing. Pathetic. I don't care about musician's fantasies, I wanted a musical analysis of the music itself, because in the end that's all that matters, and what makes Mozart immortal, the music. And I don't want to feel it anybody's way, I just want to listen to it. So please, shut up. Finally, Mozart's death is told in a rush, the Requiem is poorly mentioned, as if no one would care about his last work, and so are the death of his father, and the circumstances of his own death. Oh right, the filmmakers were too busy going against the movie "Amadeus" to prove it wrong. Well, at least that movie doesn't claim to be true to facts. This, instead, claims to be a documentary, and as I've mentioned, in my opinion fails miserably. If you watch it, of course you'll enjoy the music, but don't trust everything you hear. Or do. It's up to you, but I hope this helps somehow.
jperl66
Based on previous comments and critical reviews, I went to see this movie. I expected to see a well made documentary about Mozart's life, a composer I love to listen to and whose home I have visited. I was very disappointed. There was nothing new in this movie that made me sit up and take notice. You might learn a little about Mozart's life if you knew nothing, but taken as a whole, I was unimpressed with the details that were presented. You could not get emotionally involved with this genius by watching this movie. The presentation in many respects is unfortunate. Interviewees spoke in their native tongue, no translations were given. Now I know a little German, so I could understand those speakers, but the Italian, French and whatever other languages were spoken were beyond me and I'm sure to most other viewers. There was also no identification of who the interviewees were, so you could not relate to them in any way.
sd414197
On 14 August, Phil Grabsky's "In Search of Mozart" premiered to a New York audience with triumphant flair at the Mostly Mozart Festival, an annual occasion that hosts the world's most renowned Mozart scholars and musicians. It was well received by the Lincoln Center audience, comments echoing in the foyer with excitement and astonishment. It gave me tremendous pleasure to be in attendance at the premiere, having the opportunity to meet the director/producer who has given us the greatest representation of Mozart in film, Phil Grabsky. Read the New York Sun review at www.nysun.com/article/37972The roster of featured artists, scholars and compositions is nothing short of amazing. The greatest caliber of musicianship in combination with Mr. Grabsky's ability to unconventionally capture the music and narrative is an unforgettable experience. I honestly cannot say enough about the film, and I plan to endorse it to the fullest deserving capacity!With Highest Recommendations, Sherry L. Davis (Ohio, USA)
mdprobinson
Long and flabby, with few originalities into Mozart's life, work, genius. Some primary sources -- ie the letters (all voices are good) -- illuminate the unextraordinary, loving man under the extraordinary artist, but I did not leave knowing him better than before I went in, which anyway is not well.BAD photography.No dramatic momentum. Most interviewees are well-meaning but dull. Sound is lush and clear but the film feels like an amateur filmmaker's labour of love. OK, For $15 and at over three hours, and given the APPALLING low-resolution photography (shot on 1990s Handicam?), I can't recommend this film. Even on daytime TV it will be tedious.
