Mozart’s Sister Opens at E Street Cinema

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Before there was Joseph Jackson and Joe Simpson, there was Leopold Mozart. This 18th century incarnation of the stage dad was blessed with two musically talented children: Wolfgang Amadeus, bien sur, but also Nannerl, his older sister. The oft-ignored Mozart is the object of a French movie, “Mozart’s Sister.” The melancholic period drama imagines what life was like for Nannerl as she toured Europe’s Royal Courts, reduced to accompany her little brother when she, at one point, used to be the musical prodigy put on display. It’s an intimate portray of a family and of a dutiful daughter who comes to question the part she has she been offered only to eventually cast aside her dreams and aspirations and settle for the safe path Leopold has chosen for her.

The movie, which opens at E Street Cinema on Friday, was produced, written and directed by René Féret, edited by Fabienne Féret and stars Marie Féret as the title character and her sister Lisa Féret as Louise de France. It’s very much a family film not just because it focuses on the dynamics of a family trying to make it together while living in cramped quarters, on the road but also because it was made by a family. It’s also very much a subdued film, much to the image of the main character Nannerl, a delicate, sensitive girl whose love of music is only matched by the love she has for her family. Of course, since Féret was allowed to film at Versailles, there’s also a certain lavish-ness at times, which paired with the esquisite music of Mozart makes Mozart’s Sister a lovely film to catch in theaters. And catching it in theaters is exactely what I would like to help you do, by offering tickets to see Mozart’s Sister at E Street Cinema next week (Monday November 7th through Thursday November 10th.) Just post any comment in the comment section (really, any… why you’d like to see the film, if you’ve been to Versailles, your favourite Mozart opera, or whether you think Leopold Mozart was a worse stage-dad than Richard Williams… any comment, I’ll take it) to be entered to win.