— Once, I suddenly felt very unwell while Sebastian was in Berlin, and it was not known whether it would come to an evil consequence. So our cousin had to write to Sebastian and disturb him in his peace and contentment that he might quicken his journey.
A film full of baffling artistic choices. Why create a period setting and then film everything in long, static shots? Why focus at all on now long-forgotten petty positioning between some rector and cantor? Why admirably attempt to foreground the perspective of Anna Magdalena and then myopically limit her viewpoint to her husband alone with a number of eyebrow-raising phrases (eg. as quoted above)? Why demand that all dialogue and voiceover be delivered at a breakneck speed, without any regard for commas and audience comprehension? Why stage the Matthew Passion with its famously split dual choirs and then record all the audio in mono? Bach's music rescues this biopic from being a bit of a chore, but there I admit I have never quite loved Leonhardt's playing. Without ever quite rushing per se, it always sounds to me as if it's far too eager to get onto the next note or part of the phrase, resulting in a somewhat low-level of anxiety throughout the performances.
Synopsis: The life and music of Johann Sebastian Bach as presented by his wife, Anna.