Documentary Review #2

In a typical fashion, I have decided to post my second documentary review FIRST. I decided I ought to find a documentary that I found both interesting AND useful to other things I was already doing. I stumbled across a documentary about the life of Beethoven which bears quite a bit of significance to me at the moment because I am learning one of his piano sonatas for my exam in June.

I was very curious to watch this documentary from a critic's point of view because making a three-hour miniseries about the life of a composer would be very difficult. I suppose I have a bit of a bias because I would find the material interesting to some extent, but I shall try to highlight aspects that nearly anyone would find interesting in both material and method in which the documentary was made.
The documentary is presented as a three-part miniseries by the BBC.  With the potential to be very boring, a docu-drama was nearly unavoidable as it spares endless narration. That is not to say there was no narration, but it was used tastefully, and sparingly.

This brings me to the narrator himself. I was very glad that the narrator knew what he was talking about as he was obviously a pianist -- he would explain and highlight certain musical traits of Beethoven's at the piano. Another draw here is the fact that he is "beautiful" and British (I would like to point out that is extremely rare in a pianist). Short scenes showing the narrator at his piano really help connect the story and point out the subtleties one might miss that were not included in the re-enactments as they were solely based on letters, diaries and other accounts. Because the creators had access to these documents, they were able to include "interviews" of the historical figures, each actor knowing precisely how his or her character would have acted and felt.

Another draw throughout the documentary was the actor who played Beethoven. It was excellent acting and I must congratulate both the actor and the makeup department as the same actor gave a completely convincing performance both when Beethoven was 19 all the way to when he was an old man.

For the most part, the directing was SUPERB! Needless to say, all the music was Beethoven's, but the director found the perfect way to make the scene and the music fit together, whether it be a dainty carriage ride into town or when Beethoven's nephew goes to a forest to shoot himself. All the shots were cleverly thought ought and the lighting was always well designed. There are certain dramatic parts where tools such as rapid shots of various things are used. An example of which is when Beethoven writes a symphony that sums up his transition from a despairing past life to the new, joyful life he has created for himself. Here we see one of these "video montages" as the music builds, visually illustrating this transition and greatly amplifying the significance of this point in Beethoven's life.

After seeing the whole production, I had to turn off the computer, sit back, close my eyes and completely relax myself. It was a new experience for me to be FORCED by a video to reflect on what I had just witnessed. I do not think it was the sheer length of the documentary that caused me to connect so much with the story, or perhaps Beethoven himself, but it is due to the power of the story  which is truly magnetic. While sitting in my own reflective bubble, I looked back on all that I had felt. At first I was fairly impartial as a third party watching in on this very old story, but by the end, it was as though I was there -- I had to hold back tears at Beethoven's death scene to avoid embarrassment here in the library. I believe that the directing, acting, accurateness to the story and, above all, the music is responsible for pulling the audience into the story itself.


I went home and played my piano sonata last night. It was as though I had seen it through a whole new set of eyes. Knowing what was going on in Beethoven's life at the time he wrote it caused the music to suddenly make sense.