As part of the 250th anniversary of WA Mozart's birth, this film was shown at the Boulder Public Library, Colorado, USA. It is a period piece B&W epic of the German New Wave. Released a year after Effi Briest, it has many thematic and cinematic similarities to Fassbinder's masterpiece. Long slow, camera sweeps and richly detailed frames of nature, art, architecture, clothing and food form a picture of a society in it's final days of glory as the national transformation of Europe was about to begin. The analogy to contemporary Germany and it's traditions is easily seen. Many young artists of the day (1970's) were trying to re-define their identity in the wake of the Nazi legacy of their fathers yet maintain the respect and tradition of their long and rich history. So too was Wolfgang divided with a love/hate relationship to Leopold and the social traditions and constraints of his day. The film depicts Mozart's childhood as a study in parental exploitation, but gives a level understanding of Leopold and his reasoning. Each is a product of their respective environments and must be viewed with that understanding. Not to get too deeply entrenched WA Mozart's psychological development (or lack thereof),or musical comparisons, I can only see a similarity to the exploited childhood musical talent of Michael Jackson and his current state of affairs.
