Director Gerard Corbiau’s film is set in the 18th century and we’re introduced to one mediocre composer (Enrico Lo Verso) and one truly great artist (Stefano Dionisi), the most famous castrato singer in the world. They are brothers and their relationship is strengthened by the music they make. The focus of the movie lies on the carefully and cleverly executed music as well as beautiful costumes, but the portrayal of the brothers’ competitiveness and dependence on each other (most clearly symbolized in the sex scenes) has its share of lulls. Fine performances all around.
1994-Belgium-France-Italy. 110 min. Color. Directed by Gerard Corbiau. Cast: Stefano Dionisi (Carlo Broschi), Enrico Lo Verso (Riccardo Broschi), Jeroen Krabbé (Georg Friedrich Händel), Elsa Zylberstein, Caroline Cellier, Marianne Basler.
Trivia: In order to recreate the castrato singer’s voice, the voices of a man and a woman were mixed digitally.
Golden Globe: Best Foreign Language Film.
