The world may have revered two musical geniuses named Mozart if Wolfgang’s elder sister hadn’t been cruelly repressed and discouraged by their father, according to this sumptuously photographed, superbly acted French drama.
Director/writer René Féret has fashioned a poignant film which is likely to be savoured equally by classical music lovers and those who’ll spark to a compelling story of frustrated ambition, doomed love and wasted talent.
No one could accuse Féret of nepotism despite casting his 15-year-old daughter Marie as Maria Anna Mozart (nicknamed Nannerl) and his other offspring, 13-year-old Lisa, as Nannerl’s friend Louise de France, King Louis XV’s cloistered daughter, for both are magnificent.
The story starts in 1763 as the Mozart family, patriarch Leopold (Marc Barbé), his beautiful, dutiful wife Anna-Maria (Delphine Chuillot), 10-year-old Wolfgang (David Moreau) and 14-year-old Nannerl travel around Europe by stagecoach performing for Kings and Queens.
Child prodigy Wolfie plays the violin accompanied by his sister on the harpsichord, and she also sings on occasions. She shows great aptitude musically but her strict papa forbids her from playing the violin, sniffing 'It’s no instrument for a girl." She begs her father to let her join her brother as he teaches him to be a composer but he refuses. 'I hear notes in my head but I don’t know how to write them down," she laments.
Sheltering in an abbey after their coach breaks down, Nannerl is befriended by Louise, who’s been abandoned by the King and is infatuated with a member of the King’s court, Hugues le Tourneur (Arthur Tos). Asked to deliver a letter to Hugues in Versailles, Nannerl meets the King’s son, the Dauphin (Clovis Fouin), who was recently widowed.
The Dauphin encourages her to compose and secretly commissions a chamber orchestra to perform her work, inviting her to play first violin. Conforming to the prevailing protocol, she’s forced to disguise herself as a male on these occasions.
Nannerl grows increasingly fond of the Dauphin but of course there was no prospect of a commoner marrying the future King.
A victim of her gender and class as well as a controlling father, Nannerl is a hugely sympathetic figure, exquisitely played by Marie Féret. A postscript reveals she led a sad, unfulfilled life. Marie’s sister Lisa is equally impressive as the lovelorn and mischievous Louise, who resents her debauched father.
Barbé is superb as Nannerl’s oppressive father who nonetheless loves his daughter but, according to the strictures of the times, throttles her musical ambitions in favour of mentoring Wolfgang.
Allowed the rare privilege of filming in Versailles, the director and his cinematographer Benjamin Echazarreta make stunning use of the location, enhanced with richly-designed costumes.
Composer Marie-Jean Serreo was assigned the task of crafting instrumental compositions that he imagines might have been written by Nannerl. The music is thrilling, particularly two long passages of the two Mozart prodigies playing while Nannerl sings. I’m not sure if Marie’s voice was dubbed but it truly sounds like 'the voice of God," as one character describes it.
