This could have been a much better movie than it turned out to be. The premise is obvious from almost the very beginning: Mozart's sister Nannerl had talent as a musician and composer, but it was put under a barrel by her domineering father, who chose to devote all his energies to promoting the career of her younger brother, the unquestioned genius WA Mozart. Boring because obvious - unless something interesting had been done with it.
And that is the problem with this movie. Nothing was ever really interesting. The characters were almost all shy and retiring. That may be realistic, but it doesn't make for an interesting movie. Remember the very strong characters created in Amadeus, and contrast them with 1) Nannerl Mozart, 2) Mozart and Nannerl's mother, 3) the daughter of Louis XIV who befriends Nannerl, 4) Louis XV, etc. They were all of the shy, retiring type. That doesn't make for a dynamic movie.
There are never any great dramatic scenes between Nannerl and her father where she complains about the attention lavished only on her younger brother. Indeed, there is precious little real drama here. Just a lot of shy, unhappy characters caught in their shyness. It's hard to get involved with that.
There was nothing wrong with the acting, and everything wrong with the script. It should have been thrown out and replaced with one that created interesting, dynamic characters that made Nannerl's (perhaps) unfair treatment come alive and engage the audience. That didn't happen.
The costumes and sets are nice. But if the sound were turned off, you'd miss nothing of interest.
And that is the problem with this movie. Nothing was ever really interesting. The characters were almost all shy and retiring. That may be realistic, but it doesn't make for an interesting movie. Remember the very strong characters created in Amadeus, and contrast them with 1) Nannerl Mozart, 2) Mozart and Nannerl's mother, 3) the daughter of Louis XIV who befriends Nannerl, 4) Louis XV, etc. They were all of the shy, retiring type. That doesn't make for a dynamic movie.
There are never any great dramatic scenes between Nannerl and her father where she complains about the attention lavished only on her younger brother. Indeed, there is precious little real drama here. Just a lot of shy, unhappy characters caught in their shyness. It's hard to get involved with that.
There was nothing wrong with the acting, and everything wrong with the script. It should have been thrown out and replaced with one that created interesting, dynamic characters that made Nannerl's (perhaps) unfair treatment come alive and engage the audience. That didn't happen.
The costumes and sets are nice. But if the sound were turned off, you'd miss nothing of interest.