Elegy or the art of loving
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Elegy or The Art of Loving |
| Original title | Elegy |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2008 |
| length | 106 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Isabel Coixet |
| script | Nicholas Meyer |
| production |
Andre Lamal , Gary Lucchesi , Tom Rosenberg |
| camera | Jean-Claude Larrieu |
| cut | Amy E. Duddleston |
| occupation | |
| |
Elegy or the art of loving (Original title: Elegy ) is an American drama from 2008 . Directed by Isabel Coixet , the screenplay was written by Nicholas Meyer based on the novel Das derbende Tier by Philip Roth from 2001. Elegy is the English word for elegy (= lament). The film celebrated its world premiere on February 10, 2008 in Berlin as part of the Berlinale .
action
The 55-year-old literary critic David Kepesh lives in New York City , teaches at a college and enjoys the admiration of his students. He's had a failed marriage and various superficial relationships, but doesn't really let a woman get close to him. That changes when Consuela Castillo enters the lecture hall. Kepesh is fascinated by her sensual beauty. He falls in love for the first time in his life and Consuela returns his feelings. For him, completely unfamiliar, he feels jealousy, fear and insecurity.
His best friend, the poet and Pulitzer Prize winner George O'Hearn, advises him to end the relationship. It is not permanent anyway and due to the age difference is doomed to failure. However, Kepesh is not ready for this; he loves Consuela and doesn't want to lose her, both of them make sure that their relationship is not made public. This state lasts for about a year. When Consuela is planning her graduation ceremony with her family and friends, she asks Kepesh to come. Kepesh accepts, but backs down because he fears jokes and humiliation . Consuela calls him one last time and tearfully tells him that she loved him.
Kepesh has a hard time accepting the end of the relationship. Shortly afterwards, his friend O'Hearn dies. For years, Kepesh does not manage to recover, mourns George and Consuela. He no longer sees a goal in life, no meaning. His last stop is his lover Carolyn, who is about the same age, but cannot help him either, and he cannot help Kenneth, his son, who is in need of a decision: he is married and has fallen in love with another woman. Outwardly, Kepesh lives on as a literary critic and scholar. He thinks he has finally stabilized, but unconsciously is still waiting for a call from Consuela, who does not come.
After several years she suddenly calls. She comes to his apartment, but her condition is bad: she has breast cancer and is about to have an operation to have one of her breasts amputated. She asks Kepesh to photograph her still undamaged body. Kepesh learns from Kenneth, the oncologist at the clinic where Consuela will be operated on in 14 days, that the operation has to take place in two days. Although Consuela has asked Kepesh not to call her at the hospital, he visits her. The recently operated one is happy, but she says: “I will miss you.” But Kepesh makes it clear to her that he does not intend to leave her. The final setting at the open sea could be a flashback (because both of them were there in the early days of their relationship), but it could also anticipate the return to this place of happiness.
Soundtrack
| No. | title | composer | Interpreter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adagio from Oboe Concerto in D minor | A. Marcello / arr. Johann Sebastian Bach | David Troy Francis |
| 2 | Dance Me To The End Of Love | Leonard Cohen | Madeleine Peyroux |
| 3 | Early morning mood | Chet Baker | Chet Baker |
| 4th | Diabelli Variations Op. 120 No. 24 | Ludwig van Beethoven | Kirill Bolshakov |
| 5 | Diabelli Variation Op. 120 No. 29 | Ludwig van Beethoven | Kirill Bolshakov |
| 6th | Gnossiennes No. 3 | Erik Satie | David Troy Francis |
| 7th | Gnossiennes No. 4th | Erik Satie | David Troy Francis |
| 8th | Déjame Recordar | José Saber Marroquín , Ricardo López Méndez | Marc Artis Garcia |
| 9 | $ 45,000 (Guapa Pasea) | Gecko Turner | Gecko Turner |
| 10 | Loneliness Ends With Love | Al Lerner | Al Lerner & Margaret Whiting |
| 11 | Ay Que Sospecha Tengo | José Gomez Ayala | Rita Montaner & Alvarino y Echegoyen |
| 12 | Les ondes silencieuses | Colleen | Colleen |
| 13 | Distant rumor | Scott Senn | Scott Senn |
| 14th | Organ Fugue in G minor, BWV 578 | Johann Sebastian Bach | Kirill Bolshakov |
| 15th | mirror in the mirror | Arvo Pärt | David Troy Francis |
| 16 | This Place In Time | Colleen | Colleen |
| 17th | Horizon Variations | Max Richter | Benjamin Brown and Steven Stern |
Reviews
Leslie Felperin wrote in Variety magazine on February 10, 2008, that the "barren low-budget drama" intelligently translated Roth's thoughts on lust and mortality without the "brutally honest" sexist views of the narrator in the novel. The dialogues almost felt like music; the chemistry between Penélope Cruz and Ben Kingsley is similar to that between Nicole Kidman and Anthony Hopkins in The Human Blemish .
Julian Hanich wrote in the newspaper Der Tagesspiegel on August 14, 2008 that the film openly treats “the topic of late desire” and meditates “sensitively on the suffering that the transience of the body brings about human relationships”. The critic praised the "beguiling sensuality" of the pictures and the "beauty and vitality" of Penelope Cruz and Ben Kingsley.
Michael Kohler wrote in the Frankfurter Rundschau on August 13, 2008 that the film was "unfortunately [...] just as tasty as its German title addition suggests". The "decorative funeral lighting" is "not even the worst"; the film burns "a whole guard of great supporting actors". Particularly “unforgivable”, however, is “that the passion remains pure assertion” as well as the “pretentious reflections of the main character”, which “finally do the rest” of the “wistful, mocking farewell to male potency”.
Mark Stöhr scoffed in the newspaper Die Zeit on August 13, 2008 that he would have liked to have been blind during the film screening. The film is "sentimental and bad"; he lacks the “obsessive explosive power” of the novel. Nothing hurts in the film, just this one itself.
The film also received very positive reviews in the USA. It appeared on numerous top ten lists among the best films of 2008.
- Third place - Kimberly Jones, The Austin Chronicle
- Fourth place - Mike Russell, The Oregonian
- Fifth place - Marjorie Baumgarten, The Austin Chronicle
- Sixth place - Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader
Awards
The film took part in the 2008 Berlinale , where Isabel Coixet was nominated for the Golden Bear ; however, the award went to the Brazilian film Tropa de Elite .
backgrounds
The film was shot in New York City and Vancouver . Its production amounted to an estimated 13 million US dollars . The world premiere took place on February 7, 2008 at the Berlinale 2008.
The cinema release in Spain followed on April 18, 2008. After a screening on April 29, 2008 at the Tribeca Film Festival , the film was shown on May 25, 2008 at the Seattle International Film Festival . It was released in select US and Canadian cinemas and UK theaters on August 8, 2008. On August 14th, 2008 it started in cinemas in Germany and Austria. The film grossed approximately $ 3.5 million in US cinemas through October 19, 2008.
Trivia
Kepesh compares Consuela with the picture of the clothed Maja von Goya that he shows her. Although she is happy about the compliment and the attraction she seems to exude, she does not fully recognize the comparison.
The book Consuela reads on the beach are the Selected Essays by John Berger .
Web links
- Elegy art in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Elegy art atRotten Tomatoes(English)
- Elegy art at Metacritic (English)
- Entry in the All Movie Guide
- Entry ( memento of February 18, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) in the film database of Variety magazine
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Certificate of Release for Elegy or the Art of Loving . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry, July 2008 (PDF; test number: 114 729 K).
- ↑ Film review by Leslie Felperin ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed November 1, 2011.
- ^ Film review by Julian Hanich , accessed on November 1, 2011
- ^ Film review by Michael Kohler , accessed on November 1, 2011.
- ^ Film review by Mark Stöhr , accessed on November 1, 2011.
- ↑ Filming locations for Elegy, accessed November 1, 2011.
- ↑ www.variety.com, accessed on November 1, 2011. ( Memento of February 18, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ A b Box office / business for Elegy, accessed November 1, 2011.
- ↑ Elegy premiere dates, accessed November 1, 2011.
