The Magic Flute (2006)

Before I look at this film I must clarify a thing: I'm an unconditional opera fan, I think its the most complete art form that exists, since it harmonizes several forms of art, namely music, theater, singing and often dancing. When its well made, opera is a feast for the senses which is only harmed by a huge and unjust elitism, blamed for the exorbitant ticket prices. So I know very well "The Magic Flute", with Mozart's music on a Schikaneder text. Having made this clarification, let's talk about the film.Kenneth Branagh is a brave guy, it takes some courage to adapt Shakespeare to the movies and he did it more than once. So it doesn't surprise me that he had the guts to turn one of the most famous comic operas ever into a movie. Its almost iconoclastic, especially for the purists, but he did it! The film is very beautiful and the transition to the cinema didn't harm music at all. Mozart's melodies are almost all there, only omitting elements most related to the Masonic apology that Mozart and Schikaneder wanted to do. Most singers aren't famous and Rene Pape, in the role of Sarastro, is the most easily recognizable name. Personally, I think there would be no problem in betting on experienced and well-known singers, as long as they were prepared for the demands of film work. The work of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe also deserves a note of congratulations.Anyone who knows the original libretto immediately realizes that the context and environment of the story has been totally changed: action no longer happens in a world of fairy tales, but during a war, clearly inspired by First World War, but this raises a problem: some characters never properly fit into this environment, as the Queen of the Night. There was also an effort to make the story more politically correct, as the original opera is, sometimes, racist and misogynist. Don't blame Mozart for that, it was the mentality of people back then. Even so, these changes have made some characters meaningless. This is what happened to Monostatos who, in the original opera, is a Muslim from North Africa, portrayed according to the prejudices of that time.In the midst of some flaws arising from the changes made to the environment in which the story takes place, the film is very enjoyable. Of course, Mozart's music will always be the element that will draw people to watch it, but personally I think its also an interesting way to awaken for the opera some people who, otherwise, would never have the curiosity to give a chance to this beautiful art form.

As a musician and critic (of European ensembles and musicians/singers) I admire the effort made to modernize this old fairytale of a flamboyant singspiel. The libretto while pleasantly awkward much of the time and almost ridiculous, fits the attitude that Mozart in his music exudes. The bucolic scenery of this movie makes the movie most enjoyable. The articulations of the musicians both orchestra and singers are impeccable and rival some (and not most) opera singers on stages. The film presence of every character is natural and fits perfectly. However the unfortunate thing was, the film whilst in post-production could have advertised more, and been shown in the US. And even then the film has to be imported from Europe for US Viewers to watch. Make sure you have a DVD/bluray what be it, that can do Region 2 or other region you import it from. I again recant my praise for this production of Mozart's immortal opera "Die Zauberflote" (otherwise known as "The Magic Flute").

With stunning Mozart music and fabulous acting, "The Magic Flute" makes up to be a very unusual film. The plot is rather hard to understand and there are constantly weird going ons to intrigue and surprise. This film is for anyone who likes opera, otherwise this film is not nearly so enjoyable. Though this is surreal and usually ununderstanable, the music and characters interwoven make up splendidly,The story is basically what is most likely Mozart's opera, except it is set in the First World War. A young man is saved from death by three angel-like women and finds himself in a place he doesn't recognise, ruled by a mysterious queen called The Queen of the Night. In this new world the young man looks at a photograph of a beautiful woman and instantly falls in love with her. He learns that the woman has been kidnapped and with a birdman, sets out to rescue her.Recommended to opera lovers and people who like weird films aged nine and upwards! Enjoy "The Magic Flute"! :-)

Kenneth Branagh could well have subtitled his second turkey in as many weeks and his third this year The Cranes Are Flying for yes, folks, our Ken has discovered a thing that you can mount the camera on and it will then climb in the air and allow you to shoot the film from the point of view of a cloud and that's his angle of choice for a good 30 per cent of the running time; if this was a ploy to detract from his lack of ideas then it doesn't work and only draws attention to the pretentiousness on display. It's got to be a prime gobbler when Liz Smith pointedly excludes it from her CV and presumably asked for her name to be removed from the credits. Stephen Fry has the chutzpah to take a bow for the lyrics; it's patently obvious that he has never heard of Cole Porter, Lorenz Hart, Frank Loesser, etc, let alone studied them, in fact if it comes to that he hasn't even bothered to study a Rhyming Dictionary and is clearly a paid-up member of the Kiss My Assonance School Of Lyric Writing. Branagh himself is clearly an advocate of the If It Ain't Broke, Break It, brigade for having set Shakespeare in Japan earlier in the year he now sets Mozart in the First World War but not the one you may have seen in the newsreels where the trenches were furnished with a melange of mud and rats; you could EAT off the floors of these trenches and though he allows an occasional rifle shot for authenticity infantrymen topple over without so much as a scratch let alone any of that nasty blood. This doesn't leave a lot on the positive side; okay, the singers Mime effectively enough, they are, after all, mostly trained opera singers but apart from that there's a two-hour gap where the film should be.