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The Age of Commercialism

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Farinelli may not to me be perfect, the sex scenes do get too much and I didn't find the lip synching to be anywhere near convincing as you can tell that the singing was not coming out of the actor. There are plenty of positives though. I personally did find the drama engrossing, true it isn't faithful from a historical standpoint, then again I can't think of any biopic of a musician or composer that didn't take some kind of liberty with the truth, but Farinelli is an emotionally-charged film and there was plenty of that. That is also true of the writing, which flows well and didn't feel jarring. The film looks spectacular, the costumes and sets are gorgeous to look at and is shot and directed beautifully. I have no faults with the music either, it is so good that my appreciation for early music further grew. The singing is equally wonderful, the scene in the theatre with the long high note was unbelievable. Stefano Dionisi is magnetic in the title role, Enrico Lo Verso brings intensity to the role of the "less talented" brother, Marianne Cellier has a very expressive face and Jereon Knabbe gives one of his best ever performances positively relishing his role as Handel(even if you question whether Handel was really like that). All in all, a very good film, fascinating and a visual and musical feast. 8/10 Bethany Cox

In the 18th century, long before modern music could be canned for mass consumption, there existed a life-style which could only be sculpted from the unfortunate lives of prepubescent boys of Europe. This movie called " Farinelli " is the finest example of what was once deemed a most unique form of Opera. The story is based on the true story of two brothers who's father fettered them to a life of music and composition. Stefano Dionisi plays Carlo Broschi, AKA as Farinelli and his brother Riccardo Broschi (Enrico Lo Verso). Together they travel far and wide seeking not only an Opera loving audience, but also a rich patron who could afford their talent. The time of our story is set during the Baroque heyday of Frideric Handel (Jeroen Krabbe) who's great Classical music became the epitome of royalty and high society alike. The elder Broschi believes he did the right thing by suffering his younger brother to the excruciating pain of being castrated. However, he is then haunted by the fact his tortured brother has nightmares from the incident. Travel as the two boys do throughout the film, the story becomes more a testament of conscience, than one dealing with the audience appreciation of the day. Still, for Opera lovers or for those who enjoy good operatic theater, this movie delivers a cornucopia of both, with great period costumes and superior acting. Indeed, Stefano Dionisi and Jeroen Krabbé are superb as their lives play against each another. ****

This film is a very correct biography of Carlo Broschi, the most famous castrato-countertenor of the 18th century, and of all times. Not only is it told in a simple and romantisized way, so that everyone can relate to it, but it explains what made him stand out above all the other superstar-castrati of that time, either in Italy and anywhere else. The writers of the story, Renée and Gérard Corbiau, use historical figures to make this clear, much the same way the author of Amadeus did: In reality, Antonio Salieri did NOT kill nor try to nor thought he did kill Mozart; he wasn't jealous of him at all, nor did he despise his personality or thought he didn't deserve the great talent he had received from God. In fact, Salieri, much like everybody else in Europe, was quite besotted about Wolfgang. He wasn't considered stupid nor vulgar (well, okay, he was, a bit; but people found that very funny in the 18th century), nor lacking merit. The author of 'Amadeus' simply used Salieri in order to show us how enormous Mozart's genius was, in a way he couldn't have done by merely tell the story of his life. The latter has been done several times, as a matter of fact, without ever having had the huge impact the film Amadeus had. But by doing it this way, it did the real Antonio Salieri great injustice. He used him as a character, not as a historical figure. In quite the same manner, the Corbiaus used George Friedrich Heandel and Ricardo Broschi, who in reality were both perfectly honorable and decent people and massively gifted composers; not to tell how great THEY were, but how great Farinelli was. Big brother Ricardo comes across, in this film, as a user, who profits from his exploited little brother both romantically, financially and musically, by first having him study music, having him castrated, writing mediocre music for him merely meant to demonstrate his extraordinary voice, much like a trained monkey. Ricardo, in this film, represents the popular music industry, which still exists today and is much the same: more interested in money and other gain than in beauty, art and perfection. This Ricardo has nothing in common with the real Ricardo Broschi, who took great care of his little brother after the untimely demise of their parents, was a mother and a father to him, hesitated painfully to give his permission for the castration (which was never performed unless at the distinct and repeated plead of the young singer himself), and finally wrote beautiful music. The Heandel-character on the other hand, represents an other group of people: the musical snobs, who DO know about beauty and perfection, but who let themselves be blinded by despising prejudice towards popular artists, whom the simple people worship. Those who think: if it's commercially successful, it can't possibly be anything but bad! The Heandel in "Farinelli", although formidably interpreted by Jeroen Krabbé, couldn't be further away from the real Heandel, who loved and respected his interpretors, who (like everybody else) was in awe before the dazzling talent of Carlo Broschi. Farinelli most probably would have become a great opera singer even without having been castrated: he would have been a tenor, maybe, or a countertenor, even a baritone, who will know? But in any case his love and comprehension of music and beauty, his soul was so great, he would have been a god of song anyways. No, in the story, poor Heandel is badly abused; this is however not the real Heandel. That one, the real one, is in the divine music filling this film to the rim. That's where the real Heandel and the real Ricardo Broschi are given the honor they deserve. 'Farinelli' tells how a gifted, but shallow pop star slowly evolves into a fantastic virtuoso, who forces the respect of everyone, and leaves all mediocrity behind. The performances are extraordinary. I think Carlo Broschi would have been pleased with this film about his life. It's not just a long ode to his greatness: it's a tale of the struggle a little boy has to go through to reach the top of his capabilities, accepting every suffering, every humiliation, every sacrifice it takes to get there.

Be prepared for something different, disturbing, and with a history lesson that is completely inaccurate. In fact, it is a blatantly convoluted tale that looks more like a Cinderella story than actual accounts of history. Director Gerard Corbiau's Farinelli is 'all that' but it also is visually stunning and represents castrati singing with richness and clarity. Farinelli is the artistic name of castrato (a male castrated at a young age) Carlo Broschi (Stefano Dionisi), a handsome young choir boy who was accidentally castrated at the age of 10 purportedly due to a riding accident. Ill and under the influence of powerful drugs (opium) at the time, Carlo has no recollection of his unfortunate accident. His brother Riccardo (Enrico Lo Verso), seven years his senior, tells him repeatedly the story of how he was riding a beautiful white horse from which he was thrown, causing an injury that led to his castration. Throughout his life, Carlo has a recurring nightmare about riding the white horse but in his dream he never falls off. The conflict between Carlo's dreams and Riccardo's stories hints at the horrible secret between the brothers that is ultimately revealed near the end of the film. Carlo's astonishing soprano voice (a digitized composition of the voices of Derek Lee Ragin and Ewa Mallas Godlewska) eventually makes him and his brother who composes mediocre operatic scores for Carlo to perform, a phenomenal success. Carlo relinquishes his born name with his professional name Farinelli. Although Carlo suspects that his brother had something to do with his childhood emasculation, he continues to perform his brothers badly written operas. Both brothers are aware that Carlo's superior talent is being undermined by performing Riccardo's operas.An ill-fated meeting with Maestro George Frederick Handel (Jeroen Krabbé), who desired a contract with Carlo, begins a contentious battle between the two for the lion's share of audience. Carlo turns down Maestro Handel's offer is hired to perform in a London theater to draw audiences away from Handel's operas. Farinelli performs wonderfully and eventually takes virtually all of the audience away from Handel. Carlo's looks, fantastic voice, and range make female audience members faint dead away. One woman tells Carlo that he is responsible for her first musical orgasm! A pact between brothers where women are concerned creates titillating ménage a trios scenes which earned the film its R rating. Carlo soon realizes that performing Handel's operas are so desirable to him that he tries to convince Handel to take him in. The rest of the story reveals the tragic secret that Carlo has always known but in the end brings brothers together for one more ménage a trios that would leave Carlo to become a father; the one gift that was taken away from him as a child. I really enjoyed this film and the music that accompanied it. I commend the director for his efforts to take a difficult subject matter and turn it into a story that is both entertaining and titillating at times. However, the early-on innuendo that Riccardo was somehow responsible for Carlo's difficult life took away the endings potential climax that could have left the audience hanging. --Lewis Saettel 2007