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good film but with many flaws

A Masterpiece!

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Chopin's music has always been deeply touching, also soul-searching and quite haunting when played very well. Even when a film/TV series does stretch the truth a bit, it does deserve to stand on its own two feet, there are historically flimsy films that are still great films in their own way but there are also others where the historical flimsiness is the least of its problems. And actually that is the case with Desire of Love. It is beautifully filmed, while the costumes and sets are just as striking as well as the scenery. Chopin's music is phenomenal, and the way it's played has all the impact the music ought to have and the players allow the music to speak for itself. The acting is reasonably good and the actors do what they can, Danuta Stenka is very impassioned and with a physical likeliness to George Sand herself it is like Sand come to life. Piotr Adamczyk is credible as Chopin as well. Desire of Love however is one of those instances where there are good intentions and ideas that are not executed very well at all. The dialogue is very ham-fisted, not very natural in flow and with the bouts of tedious melodrama too much like an overdone/overwrought soap opera. The direction often plays too much of a mood-piece, and sadly there are not many moods to be found here, so it was a well-intended approach that back-fired. The story is rather pedestrian pace-wise and is very disjointed, with everything jumping around and about as often as it did too often it was not easy to fully follow. While some of the content in Desire of Love probably was accurate, very little is done to help us learn of the context of each piece, or to fully get and identify with the characters(written in a rather shallow way) and the connection between Chopin's life and his music is very poorly explored. And as great the music is and how wonderfully played it is, a lot of it was only in snippets, the music deserves better than that. In conclusion, visually and musically outstanding and with a decent cast but dull, ham-fisted, disjointed and just not as interesting as it should've been. 4/10 Bethany Cox

I have been a lover of Chopin, the man and his music, for years and years, and have always been fascinated by George Sand. I rented this film on DVD (with English dubbing) and watched it last night with great expectations. I recently purchased IMPROMPTU, the other Chopin/Sand biopic, and found it wandered quite far from the actual events of their lives. So, I was disappointed with that one, and was hoping CHOPIN: DESIRE FOR LOVE would be just what I wanted from a Chopin biography. It was not.What would be so hard about making a film based entirely, or at least mostly, on true events? Why do film-makers seem determined to turn the lives of these historic geniuses into soap opera frivolity? If you have ever read a biography on Chopin, or even just listened to his music, then you know what a highly intelligent, sensitive, perfectionist, almost otherworldly man he was. I want a movie about Chopin with an actor and a script that are as sensitive and detailed as he was. This film seemed like a cheap, made-for-TV movie with overacting, cheesy drama, and unnecessary sexual situations. I'm mainly referring to the scene of Solange frolicking nearly naked in the river in front of Chopin. There is no documented proof that there was ever anything beyond mild flirtation between Solange and Chopin, if there was even that. He was older, frail, and sickly, and she was young, sexy, and looking for money. She used him for sympathy, and he did have it for her. Oh, and the scene with the maid and Chopin! Completely made up for sex appeal! What were they thinking? Perhaps they just wanted to show that Chopin was starved for sex while living with Sand, but there were other ways to show that. Chopin would be sick over this one, and George Sand would never have stood for that under her own roof.Chopin struggled with depression and sickness, and even had a few hallucinations from time to time. His own genius mind drove him mad with striving for perfection in music, dress, and appearance. Neither movie I have seen has touched on this aspect of his life very well, if at all. They have portrayed him as a whining snob and not much else. There was far more to him. In my opinion, he was very misunderstood. This is just something else I would love to see played out on screen.On a positive note, there were a few little details in this movie that lovers of Chopin might really appreciate. For instance, in most scenes, the actor playing Chopin wears gray pants. This was Chopin's favorite color for his suits. There were also scenes of Chopin in a room with gray and green walls, which were the true colors of the wallpaper he chose for his apartment in Paris. I also liked the fact that the actress playing Sand in this film actually resembled the real woman, whereas in IMPROMPTU, Judy Davis looked nothing like her. They didn't even try with Davis, except to put her in a man's clothing. In the first party scene of this film, the actress is dressed and has her hair done exactly like Sand in a well known painting. I loved the way she looked here.All in all, I would have to say that for Chopin and Sand fans, this movie is severely lacking in historical truth and nuance. At the same time, for those who have no knowledge of Chopin's life, it must be very confusing, tedious, and hardly entertaining. I hope one day that a good, detailed biographical film will be made for Chopin. Perhaps lack of interest from the public is why we've had two duds about him. However, I think if a well made film were to be done, many people who never knew about Chopin would find themselves fascinated and wanting to know more about this amazing composer's sad and hauntingly beautiful life story.

I loved this movie. Pjotr Adamczik and Danuta Stenka are marvelous actors, I liked his delicate movements and her "real face". The pictures are beautiful the music is very well chosen and wonderfully performed. Sometimes the plot is a little "scatchy" especially for those who are not really expert in Chopin's (or Madame Sand's) life, but mostly follows the real history (e.g.the gray haired man, hanging around half drunk in Nohant is happen to be Hippolyte Chatiron, half brother of Sand). In spite of some rather primitive solution (the Russian brutes,the plastic eagles in Majorca...)the balance is definitely positive thanks to such delicate and subtle scenes as e.g. Madame Sand in the kitchen wiping her forehead, Chopin, coming home late at night, his walk in the alley and then - one of my favourite - meeting Jan, their conversation then Jan, watching his master, climbing upstairs...or the scene with Albert (Grzymala)and the discussion of Solange's marriage...or the last meeting of the angelic Maestro and Madame Sand (actually it happened so !) - really beautiful and delicate.Thanks, pan Antczak !

I play the piano myself, and I can tell you; Chopin's music is fantastic to play and listen to. Some of his greatest works can be heard in this movie, for example Piano Concerto Nr. 2 and Etude Nr. 12 Op. 10. This is a good film for those who wish to learn more about Chopin's life and music, and how he was as a person. In my opinion, the greatest moment in the film is when Chopin composes his Mazurka in D major, Op. 33. He hear his worker Jan play something on the violin, and from that he composes this Mazurka. (By the way: Those of you who play the piano; check out this mazurka - Op. 33 no. 3. It's a brilliant example of how Chopin could take folk music and turn it to the finest piece of art.)As I said: I great film, even for those who may not like Chopin or classical music, but enjoy a good film with good characters.