The film “Amadeus”
— Rita Charbonnier
Why does Mozart’s sister not appear in the film Amadeus? Why isn’t there even a mention of her anywhere?
The movie (click here to watch the trailer) is about the last few years of Mozart’s life in Vienna. At that time Wolfgang and his sister Maria Anna, known as “Nannerl”, were no longer in touch with each other. They lived in different cities and they knew nothing about each other’s lives. Neither of them ever saw the other’s house, or met each other’s children. Nannerl no longer had any place in Wolfgang’s life. She was no longer around, and maybe he tried to pretend she had never existed.
Those are objective facts. Then there are the subjective choices on the part of the filmmakers. Peter Shaffer’s narrative has little to do with sibling relationships. It talks about Salieri’s jealousy of Mozart, and how upset he was to discover that such a mocking and ill-mannered young man was a genius. Why, then, should he talk about Nannerl?
There is nothing missing in the great English dramatist’s work. On the contrary, we should be grateful to him for managing to tell people about Mozart and his music in such an effective and resounding way. Effective because Peter Shaffer wrote the play first and then the screenplay, and I can’t think of anyone else, anywhere, who has managed to tell the same story in two such different, yet equally powerful, ways. Resounding because, since the film came out, Mozart’s image has been inextricably linked to the way he was portrayed in it.
Are you saying that Mozart wasn’t really like that? Of course he wasn’t. For a start he didn’t look like Tom Hulce. Are you saying he didn’t have that silly laugh? Of course he didn’t. And who cares? What matters is that, after the film, CDs of Mozart’s work sold like hot cakes. What matters is that, thanks to the film, lots of people listened to his wonderful music for the first time.
If you want to read more about this, try the essay on fact and fiction in Amadeus.
