Winterreise (1997) User Reviews

Brilliantly performed and hauntingly beautiful a lot of the time but like the Petr Weigl film not always ideal

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 27 August 2014]

It is hard to decide which is better between the two because they both share similar pros and cons, a lot of impressive things but falls short in others. Schubert's Die Winterreise is one of the greatest song cycles ever with music so gorgeous and a story that is told with such emotion, poetry and meaning. Of the two, Weigl's for me was better visually but this was better musically. Visually, what this version has going for it is some clever and exquisitely done photography that brought a haunting and poetic quality, the opening is the standout though the slow shots and tight close ups are beautifully composed and like watching a Tarkovsky film while still feeling current. Arty it definitely is but not from personal view in a self-indulgent way. The lighting is atmospheric and at times beautiful and at others harrowing depending on the song and the image and the white set and lighting, symbolic of eternity, in the middle section of the film look great. What didn't come off so well was the rather sparse and unappealing set for the first and last acts, much preferred the picturesque settings in the Weigl film, and that it felt like a muddled hodge-podge at times of period detail and modernism. There are some striking and really quite vivid images most certainly and a fair number of them especially during Gute Nacht and Der Leiermann are equally moving and harrowing, others astonishing in their simplicity. But while the concept and story is clear throughout- fitting with Schubert's state of mind and health at the time with him in turmoil and with the knowledge that his life is nearing the end but somehow he must struggle on- some images don't quite fit the mood and meaning in the song they're featured in and seem to be telling a different story. Regarding the parts with the rape and murder of the young girl, the twigs behind the skirting board and the knife, their meaning was quite clear but they were rather wacky touches that trivialised the music a little. Dramatically though the film is riveting on the most part, the last section is intensely moving, the opening is incredibly haunting and while the middle drags a little it is beautifully simple at the same time. Ian Bostridge's acting and expressive facial expressions are impeccable. Musically, this version of Die Winterreise is phenomenal, Schubert's music is a large part as to how that is but how it's performed is just as large a part. Julius Drake plays the piano very sensitively, especially in Gute Nacht and Der Leiermann though I do have a soft spot also for the growling intensity that the opening of Im Dorfe has. The best thing about the film is the singing of Ian Bostridge, he sings with truly beautiful tone, total commitment to the text and the story each song is telling, perfect musicianship and crystalline diction, maybe his interpretations(of a song cycle that is notoriously not easy at all to interpret) are not as soul-searching as those of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's but this is evidence of one intelligent singer who characterises brilliantly. And he is an improvement over Brigitte Fassbaender for Wiegl's version, she also sang wonderfully but to me it does make much more sense for Die Winterreise to be performed by a man as the cycle is from a male perspective. Overall, has many impressive things but not completely ideal still. 7/10 Bethany Cox