AllMovie

Though his devout Catholic parents wanted him to become a missionary, young Matthijs Vermeulen had other wants and desires. Instead of entering the priesthood, he became one of the two most influential music critics in modern Dutch history. He was also a gifted composer, but his rivalry with the other great critic of the era effectively prevented his music from getting the hearing it deserved. This biographical drama is peppered with surrealistic effects which, curiously, serve to effectively underscore the storyline, rather than distracting from it as they so often do. Another fine feature of this film is that it includes so much of the great critic's own music. Most notably, it includes excerpts from his musical rendition of Rupert Brooke's poem about World War I.