Review of Elvira Madigan

Lots of dreamy soft-focus shots of the two principals wandering across landscapes and through towns, gazing at each other lovingly, oblivious to the fact that their love can go nowhere. In the end, they are faced with only the option of suicide, and the soldier shoots first Elvira then himself; I recall that the spot of blood on her blouse was touchingly filmed as a coda to their doomed affair. Frankly, this film would have been relegated to the curiosity pile long ago and forgotten, except for the fact that the soundtrack featured the highly talented pianist Geza Anda playing, repeatedly, the languid and lovely second Andante movement of Mozart's achingly beautiful piano concerto in C, K467. The soundtrack made such a huge impression that generations of movie-goers who had never heard Mozart before may have been inspired to give him a listen -- so much so that Deutsche Grammaphon, the producer of the album, named the Mozart K467 concerto the "Elvira Madigan" concerto, and so it has been informally known ever since to much of the public.