Cinema Talk on every Wednesday talk about a cinema from a new release to a unforgettable classic one, to look into the insight of the story.
'Immortal Beloved' is a biographical account of Ludwig van Beethoven's (Gary Oldman) life and loves, in the form of a fictionalized treatment of an enigmatic letter to his "immortal beloved" that was found after his death. (The letter, the mystery about the addressee's identity, and a great many other aspects of Beethoven's life, are treated reasonably authentically in the movie. But the identity of the "immortal beloved" indicated in the movie should be regarded as fictional.)
The movie is structured like Citizen Kane---a mystery is revealed upon Beethoven's death, and the movie is a long series of flashbacks through Beethoven's life as his secretary and confidant Anton Schindler (Jeroen Krabbé) scours the countryside attempting to solve the matter. The mystery is the discovery of an unofficial will found among Beethoven's papers upon his death, bequeathing all his property to an unnamed "immortal beloved", along with a passionate love letter to her. Schindler vows to find out who she was, and thus carry out Beethoven's last wish, keenly aware of how society had failed Beethoven throughout his life. He is opposed in this by Beethoven's surviving brother Johann (Gerard Horan) and Johann's wife Therese (Alexandra Pigg), who feel that the estate should be theirs, based on an earlier official will, and as compensation for the abuse they endured from Ludwig.
The full story is available on the podcast above.
