Io, Don Giovanni

The film concerns the making of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni, from the point of view of the librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte. It portrays the main events and characters in the opera as a reflection of da Ponte's own life. I don't know if this is true historically, but it doesn't matter. As an artistic proposition, the idea is legitimate.

As a lover of the actual opera, I expected little of this film but was favorably surprised. The film captures the exceptional mixture of drama and frivolity in the opera itself. In an understated manner, it also does justice to the tormented figure of Mozart and his extraordinary mixture of joie de vivre and tragedy.

The photography, dealing with eighteenth-century material from a modern perspective, is simply breathtaking. So is the pace of events, which again is a reflection of the innovations in this respect in the opera itself.

Highly recommended, especially if you love the opera.