The movie is separated into 3 different time places, the child, the young and the old Beethoven. The movie started of amazingly, with astonishing acting by the child Beethoven. Also the cinematography and costumes/ sets are great.
Now to the bad parts: first of all the acting of the young, middle, Beethoven was unfortunately horrible and it kind of broke the immersion and made Beethoven look pretty dumb. But the most important part: the movie had a strong focus on the live of Beethoven but not the music. It was never shown how Beethoven wrote his great pieces, what the reception was, what influenced Beethoven's music. The movie completely skipped over the time periods Beethoven wrote most of his most iconic music. If you don't know the history yourself you are left kind of wondering why Beethoven was so popular in the first place since it is never shown. People only talk about him being great.
In my opinion, in a movie about Beethoven his music should be in the main focus, or at least some focus at all.
6 Reviews
So Confusing !
cross-4215 July 2021
I listen to Beethoven nearly everyday and saw the trailer and thought it would reflect his greatest. First, Apple failed to notify me that this was not in English and ruined the entire experience. Second, the movie while filmed beautifully is editing almost beyond recognition jumping around from young to old Louis. Hate movies that are so filled with "flashbacks" that you cannot figure out what is going on like they way they ruined The Imitiation Game. How about a movie that highlights this greatest composer working Symphonies 1-9.
correct
Kirpianuscus19 December 2020
A correct portrait, fair in details, admirable for acting, interesting for the courage to be a hommage and not a fairy tale, precise and just what you feel right for mark the 250 years from the Ludwig van Beethoven birth. A film about a man, his family, childhood, love, work, father, teacher, options and nephew, brother and freedom. It is enough for be not the blockbuster but the admirable way to remind a significant story.
Realistic and accurate
acookieforsanta20 December 2020
There are many legends surrounding the life of the "Bonn" giant. That being said, the director of this movie follows Beethoven's life pretty close, it captures snapshots of his life, it doesn't pretend to be an all encompassing full length depiction of Beethoven's life, however it touches on the important pieces : childhood, friendships, first love and musical influences. I love how he discovered Bach in Neefe's living room piano (or was it harpsichord?) I also like how individuals are depicted in a way that has a major impact on Beethoven's character and sense of morals. He was in my opinion a man with a backbone and strong principles in an era of servitude and platitudes ("The melody needs to be more cantabile... Those sound like cannons Louis! Cannon fire!"). The Austrian lead does great service to the character he depicts and is somehow similar in facial features. I recommend it to all Music History teachers as it shows a person, a real person, a man and not a legend as we are all accustomed to hearing about.
Entertaining and rich in ideas
ludwvig19 May 2021
If you are going to make a film about Beethoven, I think this might be as good as it can get. Of course, there are parts of it that would be fair to criticize. For example, the portrayal of the 20-year-old Beethoven is not really satisfactory. The great value in the film, though, is the high production value and that it has been made by people that seem to be inherently interested in the human spirit of Beethoven, rather than on historical facts about his life, or inferring ideas about his spirit from his work. Of course, one can argue the work of an artist functions as a representation of his or her personality. In my opinion, though, a portrayal such as the one this film makes is just as interesting. Anyway, the film was certainly entertaining and rich in ideas, thus a must-watch for anyone who is interested in Beethoven.
Sumptuous period drama of the world's most famous composer
wrxsti5419 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Louis was Ludwig van Beethoven's nickname as a child and this German-made tribute to one of their most famous sons was released on December 17th 2020 on the 250th anniversary of his birth and features many incidents from Beethoven's early life that shaped and molded him. 3 actors play Ludwig: Colin Pütz plays him aged approximately 8 - 12, Anslem Bresgott plays ages 14 - 20 and Tobias Moretti covers scenes in the last year or so of his life. The movie covers Beethoven's early life as a series of flashbacks and recollections of the 57 year old composer now profoundly deaf, financially struggling and having to live with his younger brother. It demonstrates his anger, prickly personality, and his frustrations at being deaf and the cumulative effects of his life struggles. This movie is not peppered with many of the key incidents in his life such as the events surrounding his most famous compositions, nor will you actually hear much of Beethoven's music and certainly little of his most famous iconic works, rather you will see him being shaped by the music of the great composters of his youth primarily Mozart and Hayden who Beethoven met and studied under.
The movie features spectacular costumery, choreography, interior décor and authentic period musical instruments played in the manner and style of the late 18th century against an authentic backdrop of old cities which meant some of the film was shot in the Czech Republic where more old city centers in that style are preserved. To add to the musical authenticity, Director Niki Stein cast as the child Beethoven not an established German child actor but 12 year old leading German concert pianist Colin Pütz who openly plays all of the musical parts on period instruments. Ironically, he puts in the most convincing acting performance of the three Beethovens. All three seem to capture Beethoven's determination, boldness, notorious temper, and his idealism but Pütz, known for his intense and visually flamboyant playing style, brings real on-screen charisma for such a novice actor.
The movie does capture the influences of: his alcoholic and neglectful father Johann (Cornelius Obonya), the impact of the death of so many siblings and his mother Magdalena (Tatiana Nekrasov) in his late teens, the influence of his initial musical mentor Tobias Pfeiffer (Sabin Tambrea) and his then radical beliefs in liberty and freedom, his unobtainable love interest in the Countess von Breuning's daughter Eleanore (Caroline Hellwig) and the tutelage of Christian Neefe (Urlrich Noethen). It does wander into the realms of fantasy somewhat in covering Beethoven's supposed associations with Mozart. Whilst the historical record acknowledges that they met, it is doubtful that Beethoven had the various encounters depicted in the movie. Strangely, for a movie that paid such meticulous attention to detail in so many aspects of late 18th century Germany, they cast Manuel Rubey who was 41 (and looked it) to play Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart when Mozart would've been in his late 20's/early 30's when he met Beethoven and, by all contemporary portraits of the day, was boyish looking for his age. A middle aged looking Mozart wasn't a good fit. Similarly, if you are casting an early adolescent boy, directors must expect rapid height growth and often a voice change during the duration of filming. Forgetting this led to Pütz being taller and with a deeper voice in the early scenes of the movie when he is supposed to be playing the 8 year old Beethoven. In another casting quirk, as the teen Beethoven grows up, the actors playing his younger brothers trade places: the boy playing his 2nd oldest brother then becomes the youngest brother and then the next actor playing the 2nd oldest he too reverts to being the youngest as time advances.
All in all, well worth the 2 hours for a look at how the young Louis Beethoven was shaped to become perhaps the world's most famous composer.
The movie features spectacular costumery, choreography, interior décor and authentic period musical instruments played in the manner and style of the late 18th century against an authentic backdrop of old cities which meant some of the film was shot in the Czech Republic where more old city centers in that style are preserved. To add to the musical authenticity, Director Niki Stein cast as the child Beethoven not an established German child actor but 12 year old leading German concert pianist Colin Pütz who openly plays all of the musical parts on period instruments. Ironically, he puts in the most convincing acting performance of the three Beethovens. All three seem to capture Beethoven's determination, boldness, notorious temper, and his idealism but Pütz, known for his intense and visually flamboyant playing style, brings real on-screen charisma for such a novice actor.
The movie does capture the influences of: his alcoholic and neglectful father Johann (Cornelius Obonya), the impact of the death of so many siblings and his mother Magdalena (Tatiana Nekrasov) in his late teens, the influence of his initial musical mentor Tobias Pfeiffer (Sabin Tambrea) and his then radical beliefs in liberty and freedom, his unobtainable love interest in the Countess von Breuning's daughter Eleanore (Caroline Hellwig) and the tutelage of Christian Neefe (Urlrich Noethen). It does wander into the realms of fantasy somewhat in covering Beethoven's supposed associations with Mozart. Whilst the historical record acknowledges that they met, it is doubtful that Beethoven had the various encounters depicted in the movie. Strangely, for a movie that paid such meticulous attention to detail in so many aspects of late 18th century Germany, they cast Manuel Rubey who was 41 (and looked it) to play Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart when Mozart would've been in his late 20's/early 30's when he met Beethoven and, by all contemporary portraits of the day, was boyish looking for his age. A middle aged looking Mozart wasn't a good fit. Similarly, if you are casting an early adolescent boy, directors must expect rapid height growth and often a voice change during the duration of filming. Forgetting this led to Pütz being taller and with a deeper voice in the early scenes of the movie when he is supposed to be playing the 8 year old Beethoven. In another casting quirk, as the teen Beethoven grows up, the actors playing his younger brothers trade places: the boy playing his 2nd oldest brother then becomes the youngest brother and then the next actor playing the 2nd oldest he too reverts to being the youngest as time advances.
All in all, well worth the 2 hours for a look at how the young Louis Beethoven was shaped to become perhaps the world's most famous composer.
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