This Biopic is the story of one of history's great professional muses, Alma Mahler. While the film recounts her marriages and dalliances with some of Europe's most talented artists (Gustav Mahler, Walter Gropius, Oskar Kokoschka, Franz Werfel, Gustav Klimt, etc) it tries to also document the struggles she faced trying to be her own woman. She is portrayed as a proto-feminist heroine, when another criticism might be that she was the ultimate anti-feminist relying on the men in her life to create a legacy instead of creating one herself.
What ever your take on Alma's life, this is a beautifully made romance. The film aims to recreate the bohemian life of fin de siècle Vienna. It succeeds in being a pretty period period piece and unabashedly racy.
While the film even draws in some unexpected depth be giving us insight into the anti-semitism Gustav Mahler faced, it remains a largely shallow effort. The fault lies partly in mediocre scripting, and partly in a less than stellar portrayal of Alma Mahler. Sarah Wynter adds no depth to the central character, portraying her largely as an icy and petulant child all her life.
As one of the most fascinating women of the first half of Europe's 20th Century, the Alma Mahler must have had something that did not make it to the screen. One cannot understand why these great artists were obsessed with the the films Alma Mahler. It is really sad that in the end this is the legacy she leaves behind
What ever your take on Alma's life, this is a beautifully made romance. The film aims to recreate the bohemian life of fin de siècle Vienna. It succeeds in being a pretty period period piece and unabashedly racy.
While the film even draws in some unexpected depth be giving us insight into the anti-semitism Gustav Mahler faced, it remains a largely shallow effort. The fault lies partly in mediocre scripting, and partly in a less than stellar portrayal of Alma Mahler. Sarah Wynter adds no depth to the central character, portraying her largely as an icy and petulant child all her life.
As one of the most fascinating women of the first half of Europe's 20th Century, the Alma Mahler must have had something that did not make it to the screen. One cannot understand why these great artists were obsessed with the the films Alma Mahler. It is really sad that in the end this is the legacy she leaves behind