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Classical
music aficionado or no, it's tough not to be moved by the
soaring notes of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The
work stands as both a defining highpoint in the composer's
career and a dynamic and beguiling legacy of its era. An
imaginative exploration of Beethoven's life in his final days
working on the Ninth, Copying Beethoven draws inspiration from
the music itself. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Agnieszka
Holland, the film is both thrilling and romantic.
It is 1824. The composer, played brilliantly by Ed Harris, is
racing to finish his new symphony. However, it has been years
since his last success and he is plagued by deafness,
loneliness and personal trauma. A copyist is urgently needed
to help the composer finish in time for the scheduled first
performance - otherwise the orchestra will have no music to
play. Insightful young conservatory student and aspiring
composer Anna Holtz (Diane Kruger) is recommended for the
position. The mercurial Beethoven is skeptical that a woman
might become involved in his masterpiece but slowly comes to
trust in Anna's assistance and in the end becomes quite fond
of her.
By the time the piece is performed - a moment in history
captured in an exquisitely moving shot from Anna's
perspective, as she sits on the orchestra floor helping the
deaf Beethoven to keep time - her presence in his life is an
absolute necessity. Her deep understanding of his work is such
that she even corrects mistakes he has made, while her
passionate personality opens a door into his proud, private
world.
Harris is no stranger to bringing iconic, larger-than-life
figures to the screen; his lead performance in Pollock was a
masterful exploration of a tormented but talented artist. He
channels a similar esprit here: his Beethoven is ribald and
volatile, vulnerable and, ultimately, endearing. He is matched
in intensity and skill by Kruger, who makes the young Anna
both an enraptured apprentice and a paragon of willful female
independence and ambition. These two characters break down
barrier after barrier, and the result is a harmonious wonder.
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