Review of Copying Beethoven (2006) by Zoran S — 13 Sep 2008
His is a frustrating film by Agnieszka Holland as it is quite uneven. Not as bad as the reviews make it out to be, but it is ultimately disappointing. Visually, it is one of her more stunning films and Holland does a beautiful job of marrying sound and image.
The script, though, does not work and is cracked between wanting to tell a rather simple feminist story about how behind every male "genius" of history lies hidden female labor and a more ambitious story about divine aesthetic inspiration and religious passion that beckons for transcendence.
The material and spiritual donâ??t fit together here however, or that is to say Holland doesnâ??t successfully make the passage from one to the other. The film opens with a wonderful sequence of Anna looking at peasants and ends with a beautiful image, suggesting some form of transcendence, of her disappearing into a field, but Iâ??m not quite sure what the two images add up to when taken together.
Finally, one minor qualm is that Ed Harris isnâ??t very good as Beethoven and chews too much scenery through most of the film.
This review of Copying Beethoven (2006) was written by Zoran S on 13 Sep 2008.
Copying Beethoven has generally received positive reviews.
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