CHOPIN
THREE AND A HALF STARS A lively biopic about Chopin who, at the height of his popularity, receives a life changing diagnosis of tuberculosis.
PERIOD DRAMA FRANCE French / Polish #CHOPINCHOPIN Starring Eryk Kulm, Joséphine de la Baume
There is something rather infectious about CHOPIN, CHOPIN! (released here as the less hysterical CHOPIN), a lavish period drama that finds the celebrated Polish composer enjoying something approaching rock-star status in 19th-century Paris.
Played with considerable charm by Eryk Kulm, Frédéric Chopin is a man adored wherever he goes, feted by the aristocracy and welcomed into the finest salons, while his musical reputation continues to grow. There is, however, a rather inconvenient complication. Chopin is dying of tuberculosis, a condition that does little to dampen his appetite for life, his appetite for company or his appetite for performance.
The film follows his increasingly precarious existence as he attempts to reconcile his celebrity with the rather more pressing business of staying alive. His friendship with fellow pianist Franz Liszt provides some entertaining moments, while his relationship with the formidable writer George Sand offers a particularly interesting counterpoint. A strong, independent woman, Sand finds herself swept into Chopin's orbit, their attraction developing into an affair that brings a measure of emotional stability to his otherwise increasingly unsettled existence.
It is a relationship that deserves rather more attention than it receives. In fact, had this sprawling film been reduced to concentrate on them alone, CHOPIN would have been for a more interesting experience. Nonetheless, director Michał Kwieciński does capture something of the unusual dynamic between two distinctly individual personalities.
As the composer’s condition deteriorates, the narrative becomes an extended exercise in defying the inevitable. There are periods of recovery, renewed performances and bouts of optimism, followed by the inevitable setbacks. Kwieciński gives the proceedings a plush, rich cinematographic treatment, making splendid use of the period settings and the contrast between Parisian privilege and the less comfortable realities beyond the salons.
Beneath the sumptuous presentation lies a story about the tension between artistic immortality and physical mortality. Chopin's music may endure, but the man himself is painfully vulnerable to the limits of 19 century medicine. His refusal to surrender is admirable, even if it does take an awfully long time (and several endings) for the man to finally die. Still, Kulm's engaging performance and CHOPIN's considerable visual appeal make this an enjoyable, if somewhat overextended, musical biography.
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