by Clarke Fountain
synopsis
This East German film swoops into discrete days in the composer Ludwig von Beethoven's life in Vienna, beginning in 1813, when he first became aware of being deaf. The film follows him through the time of his death in 1827. By that time, he had been completely deaf for over eight years. In this film, as he suffers, Beethoven (Donatas Banionis) also shares his thoughts, especially the fact that he was no fan of the industrial revolution or of the bourgeois middle-classes it engendered.
characteristics
- Hearing-impairment
- Deafness
- Composition
