Movie Review: Bride of the Wind

Story: Let me list a few of the things that were wrong with this film: the script, the dialogue, the editing, the acting and the directing. What was good about the film? -the art, the music and the costumes. It is based on the true (what could have been a fascinating story) life of Alma Schindler, who lived in Vienna in the early 1900s. She was apparently a beautiful, irresistible, charismatic young woman who meets and marries the much older composer and conductor Gustav Mahler. She has countless affairs with a laundry list of famous men including artists Oskar Kokoschka, Gustav Klimt, Bauhaus' architect Walter Gropius and writer Franz Werfel. The problem is that the way she is depicted in the film I kept scratching my head and thinking what was so special about her that these guys were falling all over themselves trying to have her. She seemed lifeless and unappealing to me. Directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, the awful Double Jeopardy, the wonderful Tender Mercies) who should have known better and gotten out of this project. The enjoyable part was reliving Art History 101 through this film. Other than that, I would suggest you go to a museum to see some of the real art work or listen to a CD of the music.

Acting: Jonathan Pryce as Malher was the only one with any passion. Everyone else was mailing in their performances. I think part of the problem was that it was mostly a European cast all trying desperately to speak English with varying degrees of accents and success.

Critters: Some horses.

Food: Lots of sit-down dinners, but no one was actually seen eating.

Visual Art: Everywhere. The title of the film actually comes from a Kokoschka painting called Bride of the Wind which is supposed to depict Kokoscha and Alma forever in love (that did not work out at all for him). The painting however, is one of his most famous.

Blatant Product Placement: None.

Soundtrack: Wonderful.

Opening Titles: Classy

Theater Audience: It was just my friend and myself. So we were able to break the no talking rule in the theater. We talked a lot, laughed a lot, and groaned a lot because we were bothering no one but ourselves. The popcorn was good.

Predictability Level: I did not know what was going to happen -- but also did not care.

Oscar Worthy: Ha!

Nit Picking: See above.

Big Screen or Rental: Neither. Go to a museum. Another idea is to rent the wonderful Carrington which also stars Pryce about another group of very talented people.

Length: 100 long minutes.

LOBO HOWLS: 3 (one for the art, one for the music and one for the costumes).