Canter Bridge

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One longs for a movie that treats a great artist’s life as something other than the ravings of a madman.

While the wait carries on, however, Immortal Beloved is delicious entertainment. The mysterious woman of Ludwig von Beethoven’s scrawled final testament turns out to be his sister-in-law, the widow of a brother killed by consumption, and–in the end–the mother of the nephew Beethoven snatched from her. The boy himself was an unfortunate soul who in the end turns out to have been flesh of Ludwig’s flesh.

If this sounds a bit like supermarket tabloid stuff, well, the difference lies in that Ludwig von Beethoven was no momentary celebrity whose life will flare out after its requisite fifteen minutes of fame. On the contrary, Beethoven was one of the West’s and indeed humanity’s great artistic geniuses. A conspiracy tale wraps so much more satisfyingly around a life like his. This is especially so when the story is accompanied by the man’s own music, played with ominous solemnity the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir George Solti’s baton.

I somehow missed this film when it was released in 1994. Other things were going on. A Memorial Day weekend spent with the DVD is a pleasure that more than requites the wait. Jeroen Krabbé’s performance as Friend-of-Ludwig Anton Schindler deserves at least the merit that Gary Oldman as Beethoven and Isabella Rosselini earned for their arguably lesser performances.

Krabbé becomes the film’s dramatic center as he vollies between historical personages in an attempt to piece together the contours of Beethoven’s loves. His stolid weightiness makes him perfect for such an anchoring role.

The filming (Chekoslovakia) is gorgeous and there is, always, the music.

Immortal Beloved turns Beethoven’s life and death into a tragedy. Although the historicity that makes this artistic decision plausible is debatable, it is arguable that only a man well acquainted with the tragic could have written such enduring, powerful, seductive music.

Vielleicht, dann, es mußte sein.