This WHOLE movie is a LIE!! You won't believe that it won EIGHT....

DISCLAIMER: I missed a passion blog post a few weeks ago, so you guys are getting two for the price of one this week on my passion blog! If you wanna read both, feel free as they are both great movies and I loved watching them. Disclaimer over.

The second movie I decided to watch this week was Amadeus, an Academy Award magnet from 1984 which tells the story of Mozart from the perspective of his so-called rival, Antonio Salieri. 

Mozart is played incredibly well by Tom Hulce, whose braying laugh is a perfect microcosm for the character himself. (src)

We hear the story of Mozart’s mid-to-late life through Salieri’s words as he speaks to a priest, decades after Mozart’s death. Salieri is a bitter old man at this point, bound to a wheelchair and bound to the depths of despair by the weight of the past. When he first met Mozart, he was a younger man, the court composer for the Austrian king, living well and living faithfully. Salieri’s only wish in life was to praise God through beautiful music, and before Mozart came along, he felt he was doing this adeptly.

But Mozart shakes his life up. This is a young man, immature, crass, and offensive, with more musical talent in his toenails than Salieri has in his entire body. Salieri sees that Mozart possesses tremendous talent, but, rather than supporting him and reveling in his miraculous creations, Salieri grows resentful and makes it his goal to destroy Mozart.

The majority of the movie is just Salieri covertly undermining Mozart time and time again while Mozart develops more and more trust for him. Salieri shames Mozart’s wife, accuses him of being a child molester to prevent him from getting work as an instructor, and shortens the lives of his operas, all without Mozart knowing. After Mozart’s overbearing and disapproving father dies and he writes one of his best operas, Don Giovanni, Salieri ensures that the masterpiece is only played a handful of times; thanks to Mozart’s reputation at this point as a drunkard and beggar, the masterpiece is only heard by a half-empty theater.

Mozart spends his final day on his deathbed with Salieri at the foot,
helping him to compose the requiem. (src)

However, the worst thing that Salieri does is commission a requiem from Mozart, with the intention of killing him and possessing the requiem as his own. By the time Mozart’s final days come around, when he’s desperately ill, him and Salieri are incredibly close, and Salieri is helping Mozart finish the requiem. But then Mozart dies, and the requiem goes unfinished.

This, of course, is the straw that broke the camel’s back for Salieri. He sees this as a damnation from God, that He would kill Mozart, his mouthpiece, just to scorn Salieri. At this point in the film, it is revealed that Salieri is (rightfully) in a madhouse, and the film ends on a rolling shot of Salieri passing the other inmates, professing himself the king of all mediocrity.

Obviously, the music is incredibly because Mozart’s work was and is incredible. All but four of the songs in the film are Mozart’s compositions. The music is perfectly attuned to the movie; each piece is carefully placed and attuned to the plotline at each point. The operas are impressive, and hearing Mozart’s music as if it were new is an incredibly enriching experience. I would recommend you listen to the soundtrack of the film below next time you study.

 Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (performed by The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields) (full soundtrack)

1. Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), K492, Act IV, Ah Tutti Contenti (1786)
2. Don Giovanni, K527, A Cenar Teco, Da Qual Tremore Insolito... (1787)
3. Axur, Re d'Ormus: Finale (1788)
4. Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Abduction from the Seraglio), K384, Marten Aller Arten (1782)
5. Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), K620, Aria No. 14, Der Holle Rache Kocht (1791)
6. Concerto for Piano in E Flat Major, K482, 3rd Movement, Allegro (1782-86)
7. Concerto for Piano in D Minor, K466 (1782-86)
8. Symphony No. 25 in G Minor, K183: 1st Movement (1773)
9. Lacrimosa, Requiem Mass in D, K626
10. Harpsichord Piece in F Major, K33B
11. Adagio and Rondo for Glass Harmonica, Flute, Oboe, Viola and Cello, K617 (1791) 
12. Confutatis, Requiem Mass in D, K 626 
13. Serenade K361 Gran Partita for 13 Wind Instruments: Adagio 
14. Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), K.492: Act 1 - Non Più Andrai (Overture)
15. A Little Night Music Serenade in G for Strings 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik', K.525, 1st Movement
16. Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Abduction from the Seraglio), K384: Turkish Final
17. Mass in C Minor, K. 427: Kyrie 
18. Concerto for Flute and Harp, K. 299 2nd Movement 
19. Allegro Moderato from Symphony No. 29 in A Major, K. 201
20. Concerto No. 10 for Two Pianos and Orchestra in E Flat Minor (K. 365) 3rd Movement
21. Allegro Maestoso from Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola And Orchestra in E-flat Major, K364 
22. Piano Concerto No. 15 in B-Flat, K450: III. Allegro
23. Ich Möchte Wohl Der Kaiser Sein (K539) 
24. Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) Act 2 - Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Papagena! 
25. Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) Act 2 - Ein Mädchen Oder Weibchen 
26. Six German Dances, K509: No. 1 in D Major 
27. Don Giovanni, K527: Overture
28. Rex Tremendae Majestatis, Requiem, K626 
29. Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), K.492 /Act I: Duettino: Cinque...Dieci...Venti
30. Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Abduction from the Seraglio), K384 Act I, Singt dem Grossen Bassa Lieder
31. Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), K.492 /Act III: Finale: Amanti Costanti (Ecco la Marcia)
32. Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Abduction from the Seraglio), K384 Act II: Duet: Vivat Bacchus! Bacchus Lebe! 
33. Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), K620/Act I: Overture
34. Dies Irae, Requiem Mass in D, K 626 
35. Introitus, Requiem Mass in D, K 626
36. Don Giovanni, K527: Act II, Commendatore Scene
37. Don Giovanni, K527: Act I, La Ci Darem La Mano 

If you felt like following along while you watched the movie, here's a record of the music used scene by scene.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

Do you believe in God? Just kidding, don't answer that. 

Do you think religion can move beyond faith to insanity?

Do you like Mozart better than Beethoven (I don't). 

To Kill a Blog Post

DISCLAIMER: I missed a passion blog post a few weeks ago, so you guys are getting two for the price of one this week on my passion blog! If you wanna read both, feel free as they are both great movies and I loved watching them. Disclaimer over.

I'm not sure why it's come up so often recently, but I've spent a lot of time lately talking about good books, books that a lot of people read in high school. I was in a cafe in Pittsburgh over break reading a book and some guy just struck up a conversation with me about British literature, so that was pretty cool. My friend from high school and I talked about some books that we'd read in ninth grade, as well, one of them being To Kill a Mockingbird. 

The young actor and actress playing Jem and
Scout do a phenomenal job. (src)

I'm pretty sure we all had to read this book at some point in high school, seeing as it's a great American classic. In case you didn't read it, I'm going to give you a brief rundown. The book is told from the perspective of Jean Louise Finch, a young girl living in the slow-moving town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The story seems to have two separate plot lines at first.

The first storyline concerns Jean Louise, better known as Scout, and her brother Jem, and their interactions with a strange, alienated man in their neighborhood. His name is Boo Radley, and his past is so shrouded in local lore that he's like the bogeyman to Jem and Scout. However, he begins to leave gifts for them in a tree near their house, and they begin to see that he's not all that scary.

Atticus Finch is a babe to be honest. It helps
that he's not a racist p.o.s. (src)

The second storyline concerns Atticus, Jem and Scout's father, and his defending of an innocent black man, Tom Robinson. Being that this is a small southern town in the Great Depression era, it doesn't really matter that Tom is innocent; if white people say he did something, then he did it, whether or not it happened. 

The storylines come together after Tom is found guilty of the crime and killed when he tries to escape. After this, the man who accused Tom has the nerve to attack Jem and Scout just to piss off Atticus, but they are saved by Boo Radley.

Anyone who’s read the novel knows that it has a very specific tone, sentimental and naïve, as it’s told through Scout’s eyes. I was worried that when I watched the movie, it would fail to capture the essence of the novel; I was worried that it would forego the main character, Scout, to focus on the trial, as the movie was released in the thick of the civil rights movement. But thankfully, the movie stayed true to the novel.

Also thankfully, the movie was greatly enhanced by its score. A playful melody weaves throughout the movie, the sound of childhood innocence; this melody is used skillfully throughout the movie when Boo Radley comes up, suggesting that he’s innocent and safe. It’s one of those classic scores for a classic movie, extremely well done.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

Do you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them? Did you like this book when you read it? Did you read it in high school? What was your favorite book in high school?

Moonlight (this movie is too serious for a pun-based title)

I had to wait for the full moon to pass before I posted this (that's my best excuse for not getting this done the week before break). Regardless of how late I am posting this, I have a great movie to talk about and I hope someone (anyone) reads this post and has the opportunity to enjoy this movie and its wonderful music.

Moonlight is a movie in three acts (from left to right): Little, Chiron, and Black. (src)

This week, I watched the highly critically acclaimed Moonlight, the story of a young black man struggling with his identity as he roughs growing up in a bad part of Miami. The film follows him from his childhood through his adolescence, giving us a thorough picture of his formative years before dropping us into a much later time in his adulthood.

I won't spoil the movie too much for you, so I'll just give a brief plot summary: Chiron's biggest struggle during his childhood and adolescence is accepting that he is not heterosexual; because he is 'different,' he gets bullied constantly. He's coping with this bad situation at school and then having to come home to a mother who's not really herself, but a slave to drugs. He gets a little glimmer of hope in the second act when he connects emotionally (and sexually) with Kevin, a childhood friend who always seemed to understand him. But, not to give spoilers, things go dark fast. There is some resolution for Chiron in the final act; he reconnects with his mother and with Kevin, and the ending gives a little glimmer of hope, a shred of pure moonlight on a tumultuous ocean.

It's easy to see why this movie won best picture; it's incredibly cohesive, with the themes running smoothly through the dialogue, imagery, and soundtrack. (Hey, that's a good segue to talk about the soundtrack.)

The soundtrack for Moonlight is predominately original composition by Nicholas Britell, who has composed for other big dramas such as 12 Years A Slave and The Big Short. The composition itself isn't particularly outstanding outside of context; the majority of the tracks are less than a minute long and have almost no driving tempo, consisting of solo violin over atmospheric strings and piano. That being said, within the context of the film, the composition is incredibly powerful.

Chiron's story, though poignant, isn't particularly complicated; the soundtrack mirrors this. Each of the three acts of the movie, Little, Chiron, and Black, are accompanied by a theme. All three themes boast the same haunting, five-note melody on violin, but all three are also distinct.

The imagery in Moonlight is cohesive, and the ocean
is as much a character as Chiron or Kevin or Juan. (src)

"Little's Theme" has only piano and violin, with the piano playing chords only and the violin played to mimic a voice, possibly the voice of a mourner. The tune bleeds sadness. Chiron's theme introduces the five-note theme on piano and has the piano playing along with the violin, which is now clearer and more assertive. The third iteration of the theme, Black's theme, is the only time two violins play together, suggesting that Chiron is finally becoming one with his true identity. It is the fastest of the themes. The increasing tempos of the themes, I believe, mimic the increasing pace at which we, and Chiron, perceive the world as we grow up.


The rest of the original composition is as poignant and cohesive as the themes; there's even the smallest nod to Beethoven's "Moonlight" in the Interlude. Overall, the classical-style composition of the soundtrack in juxtaposition with the very modern and urban setting creates an overall sense of yearning and sympathy. I would talk more about it, but I'm already past my word count.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:
Do you think movies with extremely specific storylines are more relatable and poignant than those with a broader scope? If you've heard about the mixup at the Oscars, do you think it was a publicity stunt? Do you think Moonlight deserved best picture? If not, what do you think should have won?