SYNOPSIS
This December, the world will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), the creative genius whose music continues to inspire and enrich the lives of people all over the globe. And on December 16, Film Movement invites audiences to commemorate the musical prodigy’s rich and fascinating life with LOUIS VAN BEETHOVEN, a lavish biographical drama.
Opening on the final stanza of the musical savant’s life, LOUIS VAN BEETHOVEN finds the older composer (Tobias Moretti) living on the estate of his brother Johann and his wife Therese shortly before his death in 1826. Despite his great successes, most recently with the Ninth Symphony, Beethoven struggles because his late work completely overwhelms his contemporaries. And now completely deaf, he looks back at missed opportunities throughout his life.
From his earliest years in Bonn, Ludwig, called “Louis” stood out as a genius, with an early life shaped by the singer and actor, Tobias Pfeiffer, and the Bonn court organist, Christian Gottlob Neefe. With their teachings in hand, Beethoven approached life and profession in his own way, much to the chagrin of those around him. Following a momentous encounter with Mozart in Vienna, and the political upheavals of the time culminating in the French Revolution, the young Beethoven became passionate about his calling, though an unrequited love and family tragedies nearly saw him put down his composer’s quill. However, when Beethoven finally arrives in Vienna to study under Joseph Haydn in 1792, the rest is history.
Revealing the life of a genius far ahead of his time, LOUIS VAN BEETHOVEN shows that though his battles against musical and social conventions lasted a lifetime, his revolutionary music will last forever.
LOUIS VAN BEETHOVEN (2020)
Written and Directed by: Niki Stein
Cast: Tobias Moretti, Colin Pütz, Anselm Bresgott, Ulrich Noethen, Ronald Kukulies, Caroline Hellwig, Peter Lewys Preston, Silke Bodenbender, Cornelius Obonya,
Johanna Gastdorf, Sabin Tambrea, Manuel Rubey, Eleonore von Breuning
Produced by: Ernst Ludwig Ganzert
Cinematography: Arthur W. Ahrweiler
Genre: World Cinema/Drama/Classical Music
RT: 120 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Language: German with English Subtitles
