Gustav Mahler Movies
The astonishingly gripping music of this late Romantic composer who redefined the symphonic form and expression is quoted in many films to underscore moments of overflowing joy or anguish. Mahler's music can be found in approximately 47 features such as La Prisonnière (1968); the outrageous film noir The Honeymoon Killers (1969); Alice in the Cities (1974); the tale of the famous German writer of American Westerns who never saw a cowboy, Karl May (1974); the comedy Akhalgazrda kompozitoris mogzauroba (Trip of a Young Composer, 1984); the Charles Bukowski-inspired Barfly (1987); Tampopo (1985); The Children's War (1985); Lektionen in Finsternis (Lessons in Darkness, 1992); the heartbreaking medical film Lorenzo's Oil (1992) which employs the Symphony No. 5; Paragraph 175 (1999) which also quotes from the Symphony No. 5; and Bride of the Wind (2001).Luchino Visconti's Morte a Venezia (Death in Venice, 1971) employs excerpts from Mahler's Symphony No. 3 and Symphony No. 5 sparingly throughout the film. Appearing slowly under the opening credits, a swell in the music introduces the image of an aging man, the composer Gustav Aschenbach (a name suggesting Mahler and a failed composer, literally "ashes in the brook" or "ashes of Bach," the character played by Dirk Bogarde), on the deck of a boat seeming to recall unnamed but tragic emotions, perhaps of loss. As he reflects out loud later, a friend plays from one of the symphonies on the piano. Pointed contrasts are made between this music of turbulent emotions just below the surface and the cheesy hotel music for the guests and their bourgeois concerns. The beginning tragic love theme is heard again as Aschenbach decides to leave the resort in Venice and avoid further contact with his remote beloved boy. By fortunate luck, his trunk is lost and he must stay in Venice, and a sly smile appears on his face as the music once again builds becoming more major in key and hopeful. He wanders the beach again, remembering happier days. The music beautifully patches together this long sequence of disparate scenes. Tragic music is heard again as Aschenbach, becoming ill himself, tours the parts of Venice which have been touched by a pestilence hidden from the tourists. He briefly encounters his beloved one there, the mixed emotions of physical illness and forbidden love hauntingly expressed. The music is last heard in the heartbreaking scene where Aschenbach slowly dies in his beach chair as he watches the unattainable ideal young boy wade in the ocean at sunset.
Ken Russell's Mahler (1974) captures the loves, triumphs, and tragedies of the composer's life in scenes of exaggerated reality and tortured fantasy. Especially memorable is the wonderful Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children) sequence with Mahler's two little daughters, Maria Anna (1902-1907) and Anna Justina, running to avoid the building winds of a storm. Other dramatic underscorings occur after Mahler visits an old friend, composer Hugo Wolf, who has become mentally ill, and in the dream scenes that presage the rise of fascism. ~ "Blue" Gene Tyranny, All Movie Guide
Imprisoned by his past and unable to cope with the loneliness that permeates every aspect of his life, an HIV-afflicted 58-year-old man seals himself up from the world in order to embark on an inward journey in director Jacques Nolot's existential drama. Pierre is desperate to move past the suffering and overcome an unshakable case of writer's block. After ingesting some psychotropic substances in hopes that it will help to clear his mind, Pierre learns that an old friend who had ostensibly stood him up for a lunch appointment has in fact died. In the following days, this desperate lost soul will be forced to contend with the law, meet with a few long-lost friends, and make one last effort to fulfill his greatest fantasies with the help of a kindly gigolo. Perhaps Pierre's primary problem is that he was born of the wrong gender. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Nolot, Jean-Paul Dubois, (more)
- 2007
Claudio Abbado leads the Lucerne Festival Orchestra in this performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 3, with vocal accompaniment by contralto Anna Larsson and two choruses: the Arnold Schoenberg Chorus and the Tölzer Knabenchor. It was shot at the Lucerne Festival in the summer of 2007. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudio Abbado, Anna Larsson, (more)
- 2007
In this classical music performance film, longtime Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra conductor Neeme Jarvi leads musicians from a host of ensembles (including the Philadelphia Orchestra, The New York Harmonic and The New Jersey Symphony) in an interpretation of Gustav Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony No. 2 in C Minor. Solo vocalists Twyla Robinson and Susanne Mentzer, along with The New York Choral Artists and Riverside Chorale, lend added musical support. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Neeme Järvi, Susanne Mentzer, (more)
This program consists of a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 9) under the conduction of Claudio Abbado. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
A filmmaker has to deal with obnoxious producers, uncooperative weather, and a troublesome cast -- not all of whom have opposable thumbs -- in this satiric comedy-drama. Rosta (Boleslav Polivka) is a director whose latest project is an ambitious film that draws parallels between the lives of humans and animals, and as illustration he's cast the members of a local nudist colony, who are to interact naked with a group of apes. However, the cold weather doesn't do much for the esprit de corps of his human cast, while the primates predictably refuse to take direction. Meanwhile, Rosta's backers are demanding more comic relief, the screenwriter argues for a more emotional approach, and Rosta's family shows up unannounced, getting in the way despite their best intentions. Vyhnani z Raje was directed by veteran filmmaker Vera Chytilova and was screened at the 2001 Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Boleslav Polívka
A young man growing up at a difficult time enters into a relationship that only makes his life more complicated in this acclaimed coming-of-age drama. Stig (Johan Widerberg) is a 15-year-old boy growing up in Malmo, Sweden, in 1942. While WWII rages in Europe, Sweden remains politically neutral, though it's all but impossible for the people of Malmo not to have an opinion about the conflict, and Stig's own brother intends to volunteer to serve on a submarine. Stig has fallen in love with his schoolteacher Viola (Marika Lagercrantz), who is 22 years his senior. To his great surprise, Viola confesses that she's also attracted to Stig; she's stuck in a failing marriage to Kjell (Tomas von Bromssen), a depressive alcoholic salesman, and there's something in Stig's naive desire that touches her. The two become involved in a passionate love affair, which Viola makes little effort to disguise from Kjell; in fact, Kjell becomes friendly with Stig and tries to teach him about his great passion in life, classical music. Eventually, Stig becomes attracted to Lisbet (Karin Huldt), a girl from school his own age, and when they become involved, Stig breaks off his affair with Viola. Viola is not eager to give up Stig, and in time, she retaliates with violence. Lust Och Fagring Stor was the final film from noted Swedish director Bo Widerberg; he died two years after its release -- at the age of 56. Jonah Widerberg, who played Stig, is Bo's son, and was 21 at the time the film was released. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johan Widerberg, Marika Lagercrantz, (more)
- 1994
This Dutch film, based upon the classic 19th century S&M novel, chronicles the relationship between a dominatrix and her slave. Much of the soundtrack includes works by Mahler and Tchaikovsky. Wanda has a number of sado-masochistic encounters with Severin in a variety of locations including a crypt. In the end, he is left branded by another man while she leaves with a woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne van de Ven, Andre Arend van Noord, (more)
- 1988
Three generations of women discuss their inner emotions and their interaction with society in this drama from longtime Jean-Luc Godard protégé Anne-Marie Mieville. She uses the sudden editing stops seen in Godard's early work to tell the story of these noble women who live in a world dominated by incurably egomaniacal men who are incapable of satisfying the basic needs of women. Odile (Helene Rousel) is the grandmother, whose job with a car salesman has turned into a necessity she can't afford to give up. Agnes (Anny Romand), Odile's 40-year-old daughter is an intellectual who never married. Although she has had relationships with men, she is seriously questioning their usefulness at this stage in her life. Granddaughter Angele (Gaele le Roi) is a 20-year-old vocal student who contemplates having a child to keep her relationship alive with a boyfriend who is not ready for the responsibilities of fatherhood. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gaële Le Roi, Anny Romand, (more)
- 1988
- PG
The title character in the Belgian-French The Music Teacher is a retired opera star, played by Jose Van Dam. The teacher's most gifted pupil is singer/musician Anne Roussel. Her love for her teacher is one of the motivating factors of the story, as is Roussel and Van Dam's relationship with another pupil, petty thief Philippe Volter. Complicating matters is one of Van Dam's old enemies, who endeavors to exploit the talents of the pupils. Written and directed by Gerard Corbiau, The Music Teacher unfortunately drags whenever the principals stop singing and start talking. But what singing! And what cinematography! Small wonder that this film was nominated for a "Best Foreign Picture" Academy Award. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jose van Dam, Anne Roussel, (more)
- 1987
In this avant garde, experimental drama, a scientist begins experiencing profoundly altered perceptions of the world around him after receiving an overdose or radiation. The dimensions of color, shape and time are altered in unpredictable ways, and it seems as though he has entered a world out of dreams. Eventually he recovers from this onslaught of unfamiliar sensory data, and he tries to make sense of it by building a machine of some sort. When he sees the futility of that, at first he thinks that he will blow up the world and sets to work on that. However, a visit from his son rescues him from that course. This image-laden meditation on the nature of reality is set to the portentous music of Gustav Mahler. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andras Szirtes
- 1987
Young Edward (Philip Quast) is an impressionable lad who is used by friends and family in this offbeat drama. While attending a prim and proper boarding school, he loses his best friend when the young Asian hangs himself after repeated racial slurs and taunts from cruel classmates. When he is older, Edward (Marcus Gollings) is set up by his drug-dealing brother in a money-laundering scam. The crooked brother gets off, while Edward suffers the humiliation of being branded a criminal. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Quast, Noel Travarthen, (more)
- 1987
- R
A stylish take on the woman in jeopardy and mad killer genres, White of the Eye poses the question, What would you do if you suspected your loving husband to be a serial killer? Arizonan Paul White (David Keith) is an expert at installing high-end stereo systems in the homes of wealthy citizens. He has been married to Joan (Cathy Moriarty) for ten years, having seduced her away from a violent criminal, Mike DeSantos (Alan Rosenberg). A series of brutal murders of well-to-do women has citizens of Paul and Joan's town on edge. When evidence at the scene of the second murder points to Paul, Joan tries to fend off the suspicions of police detective Charles Mendoza (Art J. Evans), even as she begins to see signs of violence in her husband that confirm the accusation. Director Donald Cammell, who co-wrote the script with his wife China, offers a fragmented narrative characterized by quick cutting; subjective, handheld camera work; and optical tricks that suggest the unraveling of Paul's mind. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Keith, Cathy Moriarty, (more)
- 1987
This plodding, depressing drama concerns the 19th-century painters who were collectively know as the Skaw (or Skagen) Colony. The group rejected the Impressionist style of painting, opting for the realism of natural light and using the lives of the poor fishing villagers as their inspiration. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stellan Skarsgård
- 1986
This is an overly long, socio-psychological drama about the emotional turmoil of 15-year-old foster-child Sussie (Anna Linden) and the difficulties experienced in her foster family. After Sussie arrives in her new home, her own inadequacies are mirrored in the family. The mother wants to win Sussie's affection, the father wants perhaps a little more than her affection, and the son is out-and-out infatuated with her. Given this environment, and her own instability, Sussie either is literally slashing out at people and things, or at herself. With little visible redemption in sight (though not ultimately discarded either), this is not a movie for the casual filmgoer. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Linden, Lena Granhagen, (more)
- 1986
Wisely choosing to let the victims of abduction, mutilation, and torture tell their stories in a quiet, straightforward manner, this docudrama about severe military repression in Argentina is moving because of the power of its presentation. Director Werner Schroeter mixes real-case scenarios with historical vignettes and the story of little Gabriel, an orphan who somehow survives. A quote cited from the governor of Buenos Aires sums up the kind of government that ruled Argentina for so long, and how it dealt with its opponents: "First we kill the subversive elements, then their sympathizers, then their henchmen, and last of all the weak." Hitler did not say it better, just differently. For anyone unfamiliar with Argentina's modern history, this excellent docudrama will come as a shock. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- 1985
- PG
Based on an autobiographical novel by Jack Eisner, this wartime drama of survival covers almost too much territory within its short telling, often giving the impression that something has been left out. Jacek, who is Jewish, miraculously manages to survive World War II in Nazi-occupied Poland. Director Moshe Mizrahi brings forward the reality of the Warsaw ghetto, the deportation of Jews to death camps, and the terror that reigned for the war years in Poland by placing Jacek at crucial points in the narration as the observer of key historical events. As a subplot to Jacek's story, which also involves a love affair with Haling (Kyra Sedgwick) and German soldiers' repeated attempts to kill him, is a tale of how young kids in the Warsaw ghetto devise their own method of fighting oppression. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sebastian Keneas, Kyra Sedgwick, (more)
- 1984
In another off-the-wall Achternbusch satire that is slow-paced, often unfunny and burdened with wooden acting, at least to those who are not Achternbusch fans, a factory worker carries around a stuffed dog (taxidermist-style) filled with gold and interacts with the Prime Minister, who drinks what looks like ketchup out of a bottle. Some of the comic barbs seem a little obscure, and other jokes -- like a Japanese tour guide played by a very Teutonic actress -- raise a chuckle for some viewers and a question mark for others. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Herbert Achternbush, Franz Baumgartner, (more)
- 1984
This Russian drama is set in 1907 just before the Revolution erupted and centers upon a young musician who is trying to record all of the folk songs in his big country. His journey leads him to encounter all types of people. The only shadow is the threat of Czarist troops looking to exterminate those who seem to threaten the crumbling monarchy. The musician finds himself pursued when his map is mistaken by soldiers for a list of possible radicals. All those the musician visited are executed and as the story ends, a community religious celebration becomes a massacre when the troops suddenly move in to seize them en masse. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giya Peradze, Levan Abashidze, (more)
El Norte is a realistic picture of both the Guatemalan government's oppression of the Quiche Indians and the hard life of illegal immigrants in the United States. After the Guatemalan army destroys their village of San Pedro, two teenage Quiche Mayan Indian siblings journey north (hence El Norte) through Mexico to the United States to start a new life. The film opens with the destruction of the village and the peasants' pointless appeals to the authorities for justice. Realizing that the government is seizing their land, Enrique and Rosa make the difficult decision to leave their people behind. As they journey through Mexico, the siblings encounter a number of helpful individuals who direct them towards the U.S./Mexican border. There they find a "coyote" (a professional human smuggler) and make the frightening run across border. Once across, Enrique and Rosa are introduced to the impossible realities of life as an illegal immigrant in Los Angeles. Living in constant fear of deportation, they struggle to survive as they are exploited by a series of employers. Eventually, their luck takes a turn for the better when the manager of their motel offers Enrique a job. ~ Brian Whitener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zaide Silvia Gutierrez, David Villalpando, (more)
