Review of Farinelli

Farinelli (1994)
7/10
Superb - drama, history and music all rolled into one
11 March 2003
I have always been fascinated by the idea of castrati - painful though the thought of the practice might be. Baroque music generally is beautiful and fascinating. Add to that mix one of the most famous singers ever to have lived and the mystique is complete. We can hear (albeit scratchy remasters) of Carouso, but we can only imagine what Farinelli must have sounded like.

The drama around his life is beautifully depicted in this movie. Of course it tends to melodrama in parts. Of course the notion of the two-brother pact for everything, including conquests, is red top material in a broadsheet movie.

Basically, we were transfixed for best part for two hours and commend this movie to anyone who likes drama, history and/or music in their movies.
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