Film critics all seem to make the mistake of comparing "Copying Beethoven" with "Amadeus", giving a safe opinion that the latter is a great masterpiece and CB is inferior by comparison. Sloppy work....not the movie, the critics. These two movies are so different, obvious similarity notwithstanding. "Amadeus" is about a man, who happens to be a musical genius. CB is about the passion for music.
There are indeed similarities between the Mozart/Salieri and Beethoven/Holtz (not the guy who composed "The planets suite", Holst). Both are about a talented musician's interaction with a musical genius (or near-genius). Both movies feature at the end a scene when a dying man dictates music flowing out of his creative soul. But the Mozart/Salieri relationship is far more complex.
Anna Holtz is a top-of-the-class music student that gets the job of copying Beethoven's music into neat, legible scores for performances. They share a passion for music, and the mentor/protégée relationship can be likened to Sean Connery/Catherine Zeta-Jones in "Entrapment", minus the romance. He treats her as a valued student, and nothing more, addressing her invariably as "Anna Holtz". Maybe towards the end, she become, in his subconscious, a daughter he never had, or even a son (witness his love for his nephew that verges on being an obsession). But there was never any romance between them.
Watching the first two-third of the movie, I subconsciously sub-titled it "Birth of the Ninth". I was wrong, because there was more. But still, the highlight of the movie is absolutely, indisputably the Ninth - in a 15-minute sequence about an hour into the movie. Using the real sound track from a top-notch concert, it depicts the premiere of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, conducted by the maestro himself, who is near-deaf by that time. To help him out, Holtz stands in an inconspicuous spot in the orchestra facing him, doing the actual conducting. Everything you read about this movie, be it critic reviews or user comments, will tell you that for this sequence alone you should see the movie. Absolutely! You just may experience a sense of elation and joy that you have never experienced before.
But as I said, CB is not just about the birth of the Ninth. It is consistently true to the theme (no pun intended) of how these two people's passion for music motivate them and move them. Yes, there are some cliché, such as Beethoven telling Holtz to try to be herself and not another Beethoven (thus giving the title "Copying Beethoven" a new twist). Yet the passions depicted are palpable and believable.
Ed Harris is marvelous as Beethoven. Despite the occasional necessary barking, he does not overplay the part. Diane Kruger, despite her having been called upon to portray the face that launched a thousand ships, is not a stunning beauty, which makes her even better for the part. Hers is a homely, soothing, comforting, reassuring charm that is exactly what would be expected from Holtz, in supporting Beethoven. Her musical background (think "Merry Christmas"), on the other hand, is much more essential. Without that, she would not have been such a joy to watch in the "Ninth" sequence.
There are indeed similarities between the Mozart/Salieri and Beethoven/Holtz (not the guy who composed "The planets suite", Holst). Both are about a talented musician's interaction with a musical genius (or near-genius). Both movies feature at the end a scene when a dying man dictates music flowing out of his creative soul. But the Mozart/Salieri relationship is far more complex.
Anna Holtz is a top-of-the-class music student that gets the job of copying Beethoven's music into neat, legible scores for performances. They share a passion for music, and the mentor/protégée relationship can be likened to Sean Connery/Catherine Zeta-Jones in "Entrapment", minus the romance. He treats her as a valued student, and nothing more, addressing her invariably as "Anna Holtz". Maybe towards the end, she become, in his subconscious, a daughter he never had, or even a son (witness his love for his nephew that verges on being an obsession). But there was never any romance between them.
Watching the first two-third of the movie, I subconsciously sub-titled it "Birth of the Ninth". I was wrong, because there was more. But still, the highlight of the movie is absolutely, indisputably the Ninth - in a 15-minute sequence about an hour into the movie. Using the real sound track from a top-notch concert, it depicts the premiere of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, conducted by the maestro himself, who is near-deaf by that time. To help him out, Holtz stands in an inconspicuous spot in the orchestra facing him, doing the actual conducting. Everything you read about this movie, be it critic reviews or user comments, will tell you that for this sequence alone you should see the movie. Absolutely! You just may experience a sense of elation and joy that you have never experienced before.
But as I said, CB is not just about the birth of the Ninth. It is consistently true to the theme (no pun intended) of how these two people's passion for music motivate them and move them. Yes, there are some cliché, such as Beethoven telling Holtz to try to be herself and not another Beethoven (thus giving the title "Copying Beethoven" a new twist). Yet the passions depicted are palpable and believable.
Ed Harris is marvelous as Beethoven. Despite the occasional necessary barking, he does not overplay the part. Diane Kruger, despite her having been called upon to portray the face that launched a thousand ships, is not a stunning beauty, which makes her even better for the part. Hers is a homely, soothing, comforting, reassuring charm that is exactly what would be expected from Holtz, in supporting Beethoven. Her musical background (think "Merry Christmas"), on the other hand, is much more essential. Without that, she would not have been such a joy to watch in the "Ninth" sequence.