In love with Chopin
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | In love with Chopin |
| Original title | impromptu |
| Country of production | Great Britain , France |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1991 |
| length | 107 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | James Lapine |
| script | Sarah Kernochan |
| production |
Stuart Oken , Daniel A. Sherkow |
| music |
Frédéric Chopin , Franz Liszt , Ludwig van Beethoven |
| camera | Bruno de Keyzer |
| cut | Michael Ellis |
| occupation | |
| |
In love with Chopin (Original title: Impromptu ) is a British - French biopic from 1991 with Judy Davis as George Sand and Hugh Grant in the role of Frédéric Chopin .
action
Little Aurora wanders through the forest, sits down in front of a tree and asks that one day she may find perfect love. As an adult, Aurora, who now calls herself George Sand and successfully writes novels, is still waiting for an answer to her prayers. She tries to avoid her former lover Alfred de Musset and she has had enough of her current favorite Felicien Mallefille, the tutor of her two children. With an advance from her publisher, George, known for her unconventional lifestyle, hopes to leave Paris and find peace in the country. At an evening party, she listens to a pianist playing with fascination. However, she misses being introduced to the young Frédéric Chopin . Since he will soon be staying in Angers with other artists, including Franz Liszt and Eugène Delacroix , at the Duchess D'Antan's estate, George invites himself as a guest of the Duchess. The Duchess, who wants to prove herself as a patron of the arts, looks excitedly towards the gathering of the Bohémiens . George, who mostly wears men's fashion, arouses her curiosity in particular. Her husband Charles, on the other hand, is not very enthusiastic and prefers to go hunting than the guests arrive. George and their children finally arrive in a carriage with Liszt and his lover Marie d'Agoult .
During a picnic together, George, who is eagerly awaiting the arrival of Chopin, retreats into the adjacent forest and meets the Duke, who stands self-consciously in front of his injured horse. George takes his rifle without further ado and releases the animal from its torments. They return to his property together. When George discovers Mallefille there, she rides away on a horse. On the way she is thrown from the horse. Only in the evening does she return to her hosts' house, exhausted. Mallefille is already waiting in her bedroom, thirsty for love. George sends her lover away on a pretext. However, Mallefille locks the door, which is why she is forced to climb over the parapet of the window to another room. Chopin is playing the piano there. When he discovers George, he resolutely shows her the door for etiquette. Despite the rejection, George is happy to have finally met Chopin.
The next day, she asks her friend Marie d'Agoult to deliver a love letter to Chopin. Marie, who doesn't want George to have a more talented composer by her side than she, signs the letter with her name and gives it to Chopin. Marie is also convinced that an affair with George would ruin the sensitive and sickly composer. At dinner she therefore makes targeted advances to Chopin, which is all the more shocking after reading the letter. Coughing heavily, he withdraws from the evening party. Convinced that George is having an affair with Liszt, Mallefille makes a scene for the writer, whereupon Alfred de Musset, who has also arrived, reveals himself and Mallefille pours a pot of water over his head. Humiliated, Mallefille challenges George's former lover to a duel. The next morning the drunken de Musset rides into George's study and demands a kiss, since he will soon be dead. However, George rejects him. In the ensuing duel, de Musset wounds the referee, while Mallefille shoots in the void.
When it didn't stop raining for days and the Duchess longed for a change, de Musset suggested playing his latest play to the hostess. It is fittingly about Noah and the Flood . When de Musset and George make fun of the Duchess while playing their roles, Chopin abruptly stops playing the accompanying music on the piano because it is impolite to dup the generous hostess. The next day the illustrious guests leave. Back in Paris, George is more determined than ever to win Chopin's heart. Marie, however, makes Chopin believe that George made a bet with de Musset that he could conquer him within a very short time. Chopin then avoids George. George finally learns from Delacroix that Marie has betrayed her. After her mother's death, George visits Chopin. She confesses her love to him and assures him that the love letter came from her pen and that Marie lied to him about the bet.
With George's latest novel, Chopin pays a visit to Marie, who has since given birth to her third child by Liszt. He speaks to her about the love letter, the lines of which can be found in George's novel. However, since the book was only recently published, Marie cannot possibly have copied from it. When George visits Chopin again, he plays his latest impromptu for her. George is delighted and gives Chopin, who has doubts about his abilities, a kiss. Overwhelmed by the situation, he turns away from her, but lets himself be persuaded to take a walk together. On the street they meet the jealous Mallefille, who is now challenging Chopin to a duel. However, while counting the steps, Chopin passes out, whereupon George picks up his pistol and shoots Malleville in the arm. In a nearby house, Chopin comes to and confesses his love to George. However, since he feels too weak physically, he repulses her kiss again. After George assures him that he just wants to be with him, he in turn gives her a kiss and they eventually become a couple. At George's suggestion, Chopin dedicated his studies published in 1837 to Marie d'Agoult, which in turn led Liszt to believe that Marie had betrayed him with Chopin. Liszt angry reproaches his lover. Meanwhile, Chopin and George leave for Spain , where they and George's children hope to relax from the hustle and bustle of the big city.
background
Impromptu was the feature film debut of the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award winning Broadway -Regisseurs James Lapine . The script was written by his wife Sarah Kernochan . The shooting took place from September 25th to November 15th, 1989 in France . Filming locations included the Château des Briottières in Champigné and the Loire Valley in Maine-et-Loire . The costumes were designed by Jenny Beavan .
The film premiered in Great Britain and the United States on April 12, 1991. In Germany it was shown in cinemas on September 12, 1991. It was released on video in 1992. On December 27, 1996, In Love with Chopin was shown for the first time on 3sat on German television.
Reviews
Roger Ebert described in love with Chopin as a "haphazard, confusing, but amusing film biography". According to Janet Maslin of the New York Times , the nineteenth-century romance film has "the usual propriety of its genre." However, he goes “far beyond that” in the direction of the “classic celebrity farce”.
For the lexicon of international films, it was a "[i] ntellig, lively, romantic comedy, carried by an excellent script and convincing actors". According to Cinema , the film delights "with elegant décor, pointed dialogues and lively rhythms". In short, he was "[v] irtuos like the music of the great romantic." Prisma, however, found that the "costume comedy" could come up with "good cast", but "never get going". The result was "educated middle-class entertainment" which spreads "primarily artistically valuable boredom". The fact that "non-actor Julian Sands in all of his roles is not replaced inexpensively by a mannequin" is also "one of the great puzzles in film history".
Awards
Judy Davis won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of George Sand . Emma Thompson was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, but lost to Diane Ladd in The Pleasure of the Beautiful Rose .
German version
The German dubbed version was created at FCF Filmsynchronisation Berlin based on the dialogue book and directed by Friedbert Cierpka .
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| George Sand / Aurora | Judy Davis | Viola Sauer |
| Frédéric Chopin | Hugh Grant | Sigmar Solbach |
| Alfred de Musset | Mandy Patinkin | Helmut Krauss |
| Marie d'Agoult | Bernadette Peters | Katja Nottke |
| Franz Liszt | Julian Sands | Patrick Winczewski |
| Eugène Delacroix | Ralph Brown | Rüdiger Joswig |
| Felicien Mallefille | Georges Corraface | Leon Boden |
| Duke D'Antan | Anton Rodgers | Klaus Sunshine |
| George Sand's mother | Anna Massey | Tilly Lauenstein |
| Buloz | John Savident | Hans-Joachim Hanisch |
| Baroness Laginsky | Elizabeth Spriggs | Andrea Brix |
Web links
- Impromptu in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Impromptu at rotten tomatoes (English)
- Pictures of the film on cinema.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ James Lapine in the Internet Broadway Database (English)
- ↑ Janet Maslin : Impromptu (1990) . In: The New York Times , April 12, 1991.
- ↑ " Impromptu, a disorganized, confusing but amusing biopic." Roger Ebert : Impromptu . In: Chicago Sun-Times , May 3, 1991.
- ↑ "As it is, this 19th-century romance achieves the usual decorousness of its genre and goes well beyond that into the realm of classical celebrity farce." Janet Maslin: Impromptu (1990) . In: The New York Times , April 12, 1991.
- ↑ In love with Chopin. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ cf. cinema.de
- ↑ cf. prisma.de
- ↑ In love with Chopin. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on September 2, 2017 .