N is for Nannerl, Mozart's Sister

NANNERL, MOZART’S SISTER

France 2010

Running Time: 120 minutes

Cast: Marie Feret, Marc Barbe, Delphine Chuillot, David Moreau, Clovis Fouin

Director: Rene Feret

Screenplay: Rene Feret

Cinematography: Benjamin Echazaretta

Many films have covered the life of the prodigiously talented Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but this is the first time the life of his perhaps equally talented sister has been mined.  Nannerl faced numerous challenges in her pursuit of a musical career, not the least of which was her sex.

In focusing on the lesser-known Mozart, writer/director Rene Feret has almost entirely ignored the younger Mozart’s output and influence.  His role in this film is merely to make it possible for the impoverished family to travel in circles higher than their own.  This is how Nannerl ends up playing before the recently bereaved Dauphin of France and manages to capture his heart with her music.

The Dauphin is so captivated by this unknown composer, he demands a meeting.  Custom dictates that no woman can have contact with the bereaved until the mourning period is over, so Nannerl must disguise herself as a boy.  Like the plot of one of Mozart’s comic operas, the Dauphin falls for the young boy.  The relationship is doomed though, with the Mozart family moving on to London for their next engagement.

Nannerl pleads with her mother for freedom to do what she wants to do – compose – and is soon on her way back to Paris to try and make a name for herself. Or at least make her own way in the world.

But Nannerl’s talent is not enough to keep her from the affairs of court, and she doesn’t manage to fight her way to what she wants musically or personally.

By chance Nannerl meets one of Louis X V’s daughters, a young firecracker whose determination not be just another servile woman destined to cook and clean for a lifetime matches her own.  While Nannerl’s dreams are crushed by doomed love and a lack of focused ambition, Louise becomes a repentant sinner who gives her life to the church after narrowly missing an incestuous relationship.

With exceptional music, fabulous costume design and strong performances, Nannerl, Mozart’s Sister is a fascinating insight into a time and a life we know little about.