Farinelli, der Kastrat (1994)

Farinelli, der Kastrat: Directed by Gérard Corbiau. With Stefano Dionisi, Enrico Lo Verso, Elsa Zylberstein, Caroline Cellier. The story of castrato opera singer Carlo Broschi, who enthralled 18th century European audiences under his stage name Farinelli.

“u0026#39;Farinelliu0026#39; is a film well worth seeing for its memorable visual imagery and its unique soundtrack. Mid-film scenes set against the decadence of 17th-century European court life make for charming costumes and sets. Contrasting visuals of rural Italy provide their own pastoral allure that is no less charming. Moreover, the film rises admirably to the daunting technical and artistic task of reproducing the tone of a castrato voice, considering that the musical world has not seen or heard a castrato singer for more than a century.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026#39;Ah,u0026#39; you say, u0026#39;sounds gorgeous…but whatu0026#39;s it about?u0026#39; Enter Carlo and Riccardo Broschi, Italian brothers who share musical aspirations: Riccardo composes, and Carlo sings what he writes. Carlo is a gifted castrato, but Riccardo is a mediocre composer at best. In time, Carlo becomes the renowned Farinelli while Riccardo struggles with his lack of talent/recognition as well as the troublesome fact that Carlo is his meal ticket.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe simple story line masks rich potential (think u0026#39;Amadeusu0026#39;), but u0026#39;Farinelliu0026#39; is hampered by shallow character development and its inexplicable tendency to substitute all-too-frequent sex scenes for emotional power. Without the full realization of the characters or the ramifications of the plot, the film struggles to keep a viewer engaged, at least in my own case. The beautiful pageantry of u0026#39;Farinelliu0026#39; fails to compensate for its hollow dramatic core.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn short? Not bad, but a better music movie is u0026#39;Amadeusu0026#39;(among others), and a better movie with beautiful Italian visuals is u0026#39;A Room With A Viewu0026#39; (among others).”