It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything (this) irrelevant 
, and since today is Daylight Savings day in the US, I thought I’d use the extra hour to no good end.
I have probably over-blogged my addiction to Beethoven at this point, but my wife just pointed out this trailer for a movie entitled Copying Beethoven that looks fantastic. It doesn’t hurt that the background music in the trailer includes some of the best moments from the 9th Symphony, of course, but from what little I can tell from the trailer, it looks like they basically got the story right.
This is, for my money, one of the greatest stories ever told – depressed deaf composer writes what may be the greatest symphonic work in history to a triumphant reception, etc. – Hollywood could never come up with something this good. There are tons of little details in Beethoven’s life that make for a gripping story. Here’s hoping the movie is as good as the preview looks.
Speaking of movies, I’ve seen three good ones in a row, in the space of about a month. I had been in a major cinematic drought for a very long time (years?) with only a couple of exceptions (Gosh!), so this has been a refreshing month. In particular, I loved Marie Antoinette, who also lived an amazing life, both good and bad. This film has apparently gotten mixed reviews (I don’t spend much time reading film critics…), and it had its obvious problems, but I loved it. Worthwhile if you have any interest in the history of the French Revolution.
And, finally, we saw The Queen this evening. It deals with the life of Queen Elizabeth around the period of the death of Princess Diana. This one seems to be getting a better critical reception, but regardless, I also liked it quite a lot. I’m really curious to know how true it is – they’re going out on quite a limb in a few places by depicting what must have been undocumented private moments inside the Royal Family and the early Blair government. There is quite a slant to this move; I’m curious to know how it’s received in Britain and around the world. It also raises some very interesting Social Contract issues, but that’s a conversation for another day.