The devil violinist
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The devil violinist |
| Original title | Paganini: The Devil's Violinist |
| Country of production | Germany , Austria , Italy |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2013 |
| length | 122 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Bernard Rose |
| script | Bernard Rose |
| production |
Rosilyn Heller , Gabriela Bacher , Danny Krausz , Christian Angermayer |
| music |
David Garrett , Franck van der Heijden |
| camera | Bernard Rose |
| cut | Britta Nahler |
| occupation | |
| |
Der Teufelsgeiger is a film by director and screenwriter Bernard Rose about the violinist and composer Niccolò Paganini . Paganini is embodied in the film by the German violinist David Garrett .
action
The film begins with a scene in which Niccolò Paganini has only moderate success with the audience. But someone in the audience recognizes his talent: Urbani, who comes to Paganini the same evening and signs a contract with him as his manager. Allusions are made to a pact with the devil ("now I serve you, when we meet again in the hereafter, you will serve me").
Urbani markets Paganini well, but has to experience that Paganini quickly gambled away his money again. In 1830 Paganini was at the height of his career. There are secrets about him, and Urbani does everything possible to keep the circulating scandalous stories alive. After all, he has a keen interest in promoting his famous client in the best possible way. Only the London audience has yet to be won. British impresario John Watson and his lover Elisabeth Wells risk all of their possessions to get Paganini to make his first appearance in London .
The enterprising Urbani finally succeeds in bringing Paganini to the English metropolis against his will. Thanks to the reporting by journalist Ethel Langham, the project seems to have been crowned with success. There are tumultuous crowds in front of his hotel, so that the musician and his manager have to seek refuge at Watson. Here Paganini quickly takes a liking to Charlotte, the beautiful daughter of his host. She and Paganini find each other through music. He falls in love with the young singer. However, Urbani fears he will lose his influence over his protégé and forges a diabolical plan: Drunk, drug addict Paganini receives a visit from a prostitute whom he believes is Charlotte. At the same time, Urbani lures Charlotte to Paganini's hotel, and she sees this woman come out of Paganini's room and obviously had sex with him. Paganini then appears and asks confused what is going on, with which the relationship with Charlotte ended before it really began.
Paganini fires Urbani, but soon comes to terms with him again. On this occasion, Urbani says: “I am not the devil, I serve him” and then assure him that he is Paganini's servant. They leave London and Paganini takes a stake in a casino in Paris, in which he also appears. His attempts to reconcile Charlotte by letter come to an abrupt end when she informs him that she has married. Shortly thereafter, the casino ran into trouble, Paganini finally separated from Urbani and moved to Italy. But as predicted by Urbani, he can not live without him : his illnesses worsen, and on his deathbed he refuses to attend the Catholic sacraments. In the credits it is mentioned that he was refused a church funeral.
production
Der Teufelsgeiger is a "Summerstorm Entertainment Production" in coproduction with Dorfilm, Construction Filmproduktion , Bayerischer Rundfunk and Arte in cooperation with Bavaria Film Partners, Bahr Productions, FilmConfect, Sky , ORF and Film House Germany.
Leading actor David Garrett also acted as executive producer . Veronica Ferres was a co-producer. The film was funded by FFF Bayern, FFA and DFFF as well as FFW, ÖFI and FISA in Austria. The film started in Germany on October 31, 2013.
criticism
The film received mixed reviews. The thin plot was criticized, but Garrett's musical talent and the acting of Jared Harris and Andrea Deck , who played her first major role in the Teufelsgeiger , were particularly praised.
“But here are the movie's strengths too. Because Garrett can really play - not only the violin, which gives the film a rare authenticity. "
“Surprisingly, it's not because of the new actor Garrett that the film failed horribly. His acting ability hardly drops compared to his professional colleagues like Veronica Ferres, who co-produced the terrifyingly lifeless film. "
“Oh, oh, three times: As a musician, David Garrett is a world star. As an actor, he fails terribly. [...] Subplots are fluffed up to cover up how thin the main thread is. And the other actors were probably instructed to play weaker in order not to make poor Garrett look so sad. "
"Conclusion: love, music, intrigue - despite the right ingredients, this costume film lacks the flavor"
“But the problem is: 33-year-old Garrett is a musician, not an actor. [...] The 'devil's violinist' only picks up speed when Garrett does what he is really good at: violin like the devil. [...] And because the film music with Paganini's works is really more than worth listening to, buying the CD is perhaps more worthwhile than a visit to the cinema. "
“The Teufelsgeiger is an elaborately designed, not particularly accurate historical cinema that slips too far into the melodramatic. An artist biography becomes too little more than a commercial romance, accentuated only by a devilry that may not be any. All of this is dignified, not particularly exciting, but nice to look at. "
“'Der Teufelsgeiger', which in its best moments is reminiscent of over-the-top, colorful European productions from the 70s, [suffers] from an indefinite script. And lead actor David Garrett can play the violin very well, but is not a charismatic actor. "
Web links
- The Devil's Violinist in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Der Teufelsgeiger at filmportal.de (with trailer and photo gallery)
- Official German website for the film
- Focus.de report on the film
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Certificate of Release for Der Teufelsgeiger . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , August 2013 (PDF; test number: 140 626 K).
- ↑ Reason for release
- ↑ The historical Paganini actually had a relationship with a Charlotte Watson who also appeared at some of his concerts, but this relationship was not limited to London.
- ^ Adrian Prechtel: In the cinema: David Garrett is "The Devil's Violinist". Retrieved February 19, 2015 .
- ↑ Thomas Winkler: Great violinist. taz.de, accessed on November 7, 2013 .
- ↑ Peter Zander: David Garrett, stick to your strings. taz.de - the film page, accessed on November 7, 2013 .
- ↑ The devil's violinist. Cinema, accessed November 7, 2013 .
- ↑ Britta Schultejans: Premiere of the Teufelsgeiger. taz.de, accessed on November 7, 2013 .
- ↑ Peter Osteried: Rock star messed up. Retrieved November 7, 2013 .
- ↑ Michael Meyns: Teufelsgeiger. Retrieved November 7, 2013 .