Anything that mentions Gustav Klimpt catches my attention. From there I follow the thread from one thing to another, then find a movie and go there to learn more. This time the movie was about Alma Mahler Gropius Werfel (nee Schindler) who I believe was related to Klimpt. Her story enraptured me.
The Bride of the Wind is that movie and I have enjoyed viewing it several times over the years. Each time I watch it, I see something I haven’t noticed before. To me, that’s a sign of a really good movie.
It’s a true story set in Victorian Vienna, the city that inspired many great artists of music, architecture, fine art, and literature. It also inspired Alma as she later in life became the famous composer she dreamed of when she was young, but not allowed to be,
Jonathan Pryce plays the role of her first husband, the famous Viennese composer Gustav Mahler. His compositions are still recorded and played today. The ruggedly handsome Vincent Perez plays the role of Oskar Kokaschka, painter of the real Bride of the Wind with his usual intense presence. Oskar’s painting is full of passion, in all blues, very different from the one shown here on the cover of the DVD, which is presented in the style of Klimpt. Seeing Perez in this movie led me to buy another of his films, Swept from the Sea. The thread goes on.