Movies

A man behind me commented at the end, 'What a bizarre idea', which I suppose it was, if he was expecting a filmed version of the staged opera. What we get, however, is a proper movie, with all the tricks and all the realism that can offer. The plot is - always was - nonsense, which suits this semi-fantastic treatment perfectly. Branaugh uses his CGI with drama and humour as well as the poignancy of the First World War to hold the story together. The principals were ideal - they looked right as well as sounding perfect. Papageno was a comic delight. Liz Smith - not a singing role - was enjoying herself as much as the audience where I saw the film enjoyed her. The singing would be enough to hold an audience on its own.

It's a sad fact but the libretto of Die Zauberfloete is quite... weak. This film has done the amazing achievement of lifting up the story line and making in it not only beautiful in music and decors, but also interesting to follow and understandable! Chapeau. What a great movie. The Papageno-Papagena sound at the end is a masterpiece and is a perfect capture of the theme behind the scene. It's uplifting and joyful, and the voices are perfectly acceptable to very good. It's at the same pleasure level as La Traviatta of Franco Zefirelli. And I have to say it takes guts to revisit this story with a WW1 theme and achieving such a nice result.

No magic rings? A magic flute? If you liked "The Lord of the Rings" and "Moulin Rouge", you might like "The Magic Flute". The music and the landscapes are beautiful. The singers look strangely like real people, since they are opera singers, not Hollywood actors. There's a war, but not a lot of blood because everybody's singing most of the time. Why not a fantasy without orcs? Why not a story without a lot of video game battles and trials? There are some female characters, more than you usually see in a fantasy. When the Queen of the Night threatens with all her powers, there are some great moments. Although the lyrics are sometimes difficult to hear, the overall feeling is fun and uplifting. Unfortunately, it only lasts two hours.