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54 minutes Grades 10 -12, College, Adult Directed by Larry Weinstein Produced by Jessica Daniel and Larry Weinstein DVD Purchase $250, Rent $85 , Rent $85 US Release Date: 2006 Copyright Date: 2006 DVD ISBN: 1-59458-385-4 VHS ISBN: 1-59458-384-6 Subjects Anthropology Anthropology European Studies History Humanities Humor Music Performing Arts Sociology Awards and Festivals Best Arts/Culture Documentary, Yorkton Short Film & Video Festival Opening Night Film, Victoria Independent Film & Video Festival Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival FIFA, International Festival of Films on Art, Montreal Docaviv International Documentary Film Festival, Tel Aviv |
Mozartballs![]() An off-beat anniversary tribute to Mozart through some Mozart-loving eccentrics.
MOZARTBALLS is a light-hearted tribute to Mozart and explores what he symbolizes in our age. It is the antidote to the many "serious" programs produced for the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth. It features curious characters that embody the spirit of Mozart -- from a retired Swiss school teacher obsessed by all things Mozart, to an ex-pop musician in Oklahoma who believes that her body is actually inhabited by Mozart's spirit; from a computer genius in California whose software has created a new Mozart cello concerto in less than one second, to a piano-playing Austrian astronaut who carried a score of "The Magic Flute" and delicious chocolate Mozartkugeln into space. Disparate elements come together as the narrative unfolds. The soundtrack features an ever-present weave of Mozartian musical motifs. Reviews "Finding the humanity and joy of existence in the most unique of society's characters, Weinstein doesn't reveal too much of his characters all at once. He waits to complete his themes until just the right moment. Alive and sprightly like a Mozart seduction Weinstein lets the viewer dabble here and there as the notes fill the page leading us from one eccentric character to another. Each character we meet seems to represent a facet of Mozart - his love of mathematical equations, his passion for the world, his interest in pure sound, his fraught life - it all plays out through their lives. As the accompanying music washes over the viewer the most compelling moment will come when you realize that through his music Mozart continues to give inspiration and not only to this unique cast." Victoria International Film and Video Festival Program "[Mozartballs] emerges as a hilarious and educational look at how Mozart is still a popular icon 200 years after his death...an exquisitely rendered documentary, delightfully explores what fuels the Mozart obsession." ReelTalk "Superb...an 'antidote' to 'serious' celebrations of Mozart (who needs such a thing? Any sincere commemoration of Mozart would have to be fundementally joyous)." Bonnie Jo Dopp, Performing Arts Library, University of Maryland, Educational Media Reviews Online "Cheerfully buoyant...Transcending time and place, the film is as seductively sweet as the extraordinary Austrian chocolates that bear his name...delightful." Booklist "A whimsical snapshot of human obsession...An intriguing addition to collections supporting psychology or cultural anthropology." School Library Journal "Perhaps the most avidly enjoyable of Toronto director Larry Weinstein's many films...juxtaposed and interwoven in an appropriately symphonic fashion to create an operetta of nuttiness." Eye Weekly |