I'm so tired of Igmar Bergman and his commercial sell-out movies. I know that millions of people where clamoring for a cinematic adaptation of an 18th century Mozart opera, but couldn't the director not have sold out to the masses and made something more esoteric?
In all seriousness, there is no way to discuss this movie and come out unscathed. If you say to liked it you sound pretentious and elitist, and if you say you didn't, you sound like an uncultured hick. I will be honest and say that I didn't like it. Although I like classical music I am not a big fan of opera (although I did like Caleveria Rusticana, the opera at the end of The Godfather, Part III). For that matter, I am not a big fan of Mozart, either. Maybe I am not the audience for this film, but I do love Bergman. I am also going to be honest and say that I didn't make it to the end of this movie without the fast forward button.
Following the plot in a movie like this is nearly impossible, so I quote directly from Wikipedia, with myself interjecting actors names. "Sarastro (Ulrik Gold), the wise priest of Isis and Osiris, has taken Pamina (Irma Urrila) to the temple for the humane purpose of releasing her from the influence of her mother, the Queen of the Night (Birgit Noldin). The queen induces the young Prince Tamino (Joseph Kostlinger) to go in search of her daughter and free her from the power of Sarastro; Tamino accomplishes his end, but becomes the disciple of Sarastro, whose mildness and wisdom he has learned to admire. The prince and the princess are united." Okay.
Making a film of an opera would be difficult under any circumstances, but Bergman has chosen to make The Magic Flute as a filmed play. The only possible reason I can that he did this is for budgetary reasons, because it's about as much fun as watching a video of your friends high school musical. Bergman does open the film up a little, but from a narrative point of view anyway, this is a fantasy, and should be shot in a style like Lord of the Rings. Although he does cheat a little at times, the stage bound claustrophobia really hurts the film. The director is so intent on filming the complete opera that he includes the overture with nothing but shots of the audience and the entr'acte with shots of the actors dressing back stage. A brick wall is more exciting.
Zachary J. Schnitta once told me that the most underdeveloped movie genre was the science fiction film. I feel the same way about the musical, and by extension, opera. There may be away to put opera in a convincing way, but it would only work by making it a full movie. Regardless, I don't know if this is the right work for it- the lyrics (translated from the original German to Swedish) are witty, but Mozart's music lacks an emotional immediacy that is probably necessary for the cinema form. Of course, there are lots and lots of people who REALLY like Mozart, but I am not one of them. He is obviously not a bad composer, but not one for me (I tend to prefer the Baroque, Romantic and Impressionist periods of classical music as opposed to the, uh, classical).
If you were really into the opera and were just clamoring to see a movie version, you are probably going to be thrilled. For everybody else, this is a good treatment for insomnia.
The Magic Flute (1975)