Film review

Amadeus

It has been said that there is a preferable middle ground for biographies about exceptionally renowned individuals , a sort of sweet spot ' that allows for truth in the telling of that person 's life story When a biography is written too soon after their death , or before they have even passed , it is inevitably filled with inaccuracies due to hasty research , or perhaps conflicts with the estate of the deceased . If the book is written too long after that person 's death , the facts surrounding their life become blurred and incoherent

, if not lost entirely , by the inescapable decay that comes with the passage of enough time . Amadeus , as a film , is enjoyable on a level that could not be faithfully described in words . However , what it is not is an accurate portrayal of the famous composer , as some might be led to assume by the title of the movie . The aspect of accuracy , though serious , even vital to the written biography , stands a tier below entertainment value in cinematic biography , and does not necessarily detract from the value of the piece

As a viewer , I was drawn to this movie by the simple fact that it is a biography about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . With no real prior knowledge or prejudices about it , I viewed this film as a blank slate over which would be drawn a story about one of my favorite composers . The historical setting , the famous characters , and the tragedy of the tale made it my very first choice among a list of intriguing films

In terms of plot , the story is told in a very clever and admittedly unexpected way : from the perspective of Amadeus ' colleague and famous enemy , Antonio Salieri , after his attempted suicide , as he offers his confession as a very old man to a young priest in a sanitarium . The tale begins at the time that Mozart is six years old , while Salieri is still a

relatively young man . It progresses through the genius ' many achievements and compares them with the simultaneous heartbreaks and failures of the older composer . By the time Amadeus has reached adulthood , Saliere has become an embittered middle-aged man who seeks only to degrade the works of his unruly colleague . Throughout the film using tricks of political and personal maneuvering , Salieri sees to it that Mozart 's success does not reach its seemingly inevitable apex , and the older man is there on the day that Mozart dies . Salieri completes his tale in a night 's time , and continues on his daily routine as a patient at the sanitarium

Emotionally and cinematically , the most poignant moment in the film comes near the end , when Mozart has become ill and bedridden , and Salieri offers his services to help complete the famous Requiem Mass Mozart has taken the job , not realizing that it is a work commissioned by Salieri himself , and becomes more and more afraid of the piece , as if it is slowly leeching him of life . Salieri , desiring the...