Bride of the Wind (2001)

This movie is a biopic of Alma Mahler, the wife of composer Gustav Mahler (as well as Walter Gropius and Franz Werfel), and the mistress of Oskar Kokoschka.

Director:

Bruce Beresford

Writer:

Marilyn Levy

Stars:

Sarah Wynter, Jonathan Pryce, Vincent Perez

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sarah Wynter	...	Alma Mahler
Jonathan Pryce	...	Gustav Mahler
Vincent Perez	...	Oskar Kokoschka
Simon Verhoeven	...	Walter Gropius
Gregor Seberg	...	Franz Werfel
Dagmar Schwarz	...	Anna Sofie Schindler-Moll
Wolfgang Hübsch	...	Carl Moll
August Schmölzer	...	Gustav Klimt
Marion Rottenhofer	...	Berta Zuckerkandl
Sophie Schweighofer	...	Anna Mahler (Age 6)
Johannes Silberschneider	...	Alexander von Zemlinsky
Daniela Dadieu	...	Justine Mahler-Rosé
Brigitte Antonius	...	Frau Kokoschka
Johanna Mertinz	...	Frau Gropius
Erwin Ebenbauer	...	Dr. Alfred Loos

Storyline

Vienna, 1902: Alma Schindler meets Gustav Mahler. She beautiful, young, plays, and composes: music is her life. She becomes Mahler's lover, then he marries her, asking that she give up composing. She has two children, works as his assistant, does his books, saves him from debt, and feels stifled. In 1910, after the death of a child, she retreats to a spa where she falls in love with Walter Gropius. Will she go with him or stay with Mahler? She conducts an affair with the tempestuous Oskar Kokoschka and is stifled in another way. Then, she marries Gropius, who proves imperious. She leaves him for Franz Werfel: he finds her compositions and insists the public hear them.

---

Plot Keywords:

composer | mistress | lover | spa | death | 

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount Classics

Country:

UK Germany Austria

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 January 2002 (South Africa)

Also Known As:

A szél menyasszonya

Filming Locations:

Vienna, Austria

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$35,208 (USA) (8 June 2001)

Gross:

$419,414 (USA) (9 November 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alma UK Limited, ApolloMedia Distribution, Firelight Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Rückert-Lieder: No. 5, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen"
Composed by Gustav Mahler
Lyrics by Friedrich Rückert
Performed by Renée Fleming soprano, Jean-Yves Thibaudet piano

User Reviews

The Boring Bride

This film begins with very great promise. The opening credits are very involving. Unfortunately, the script is banal and not very engaging at all. So after the opening credits, it is all downhill. I just do not believe that the romantic liaisons of Alma Mahler were this shallow and trite. We are led to believe that Alma Mahler is nothing but an opportunistic loose woman. We are given no background to understand her actions. With the exception of her relationship with Gustav Mahler, we are not given any information so that we can understand why so many talented men were drawn to her. Perhaps a more formidable actress would have convinced us otherwise. Her relationships with most of these important historical figures are never really fleshed out so that we can become involved and feel something for these characters.

The acting by Jonathan Pryce as Mahler is good. Vincent Perez is alluring as Kokoschka. However, the weakest acting is that of Simon Verhoeven as Walter Gropius. Ms. Wynter is obviously an excellent actress but she is destroyed by this awful script and she is not that sexually alluring. The music is, of course, wonderful. It is Mahler for the most part.

I was drawn to this film because I wanted to be moved by a chapter in the life of Mahler and to perhaps experience some of the excitement of this period of creative activity in Vienna and Central Europe. The settings are enjoyable but the film is a great disappointment for anyone seeking to know more about the life of Alma Mahler.