TBT: Mozart’s Sister (2010)

I’m always looking for frock flicks about lesser-known historical figures, so Mozart’s Sister (2010), aka Nannerl, la Soeur de Mozart, was on my to-watch list. Everyone knows Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, boy genius, but his older sister Maria Anna (called “Marianne” and also nicknamed “Nannerl”) was also a musical prodigy as a child. The pair studied and performed together until she turned 17, and recent studies suggest that Nannerl composed her own works and probably collaborated on her brother’s early music. Unfortunately, none of her music survives, only letters referencing it, along with rave reviews of her youthful performances.

So this movie plays fast and loose with what little historical facts could be found (especially back in 2010). The basic setting is accurate — Leopold Mozart took his two children and his wife Anna Maria on a “grand tour” of Europe from 1763 to 1766, arriving in Paris in December 1763. Wolfgang and Nannerl performed at Versailles and in Paris, then in April the family moved on to London.

The rest of the story is entirely fictional, with Nannerl befriending Louis XV’s youngest daughter, Louise de France, and then cross-dressing to carry a letter to court for Louise and impressing the Dauphin with her music. The ages are all screwed up though because Nannerl would have been 12 on this tour (she says 14 in the film), and Louise would have been 26 (she says 13 in the film). Also, the movie says the Dauphin is in mourning for his first wife, but she died 17 years before and he remarried one year later.

Anyway, what the movie does well is show Nannerl’s thwarted talents as a musician and composer, which is historically accurate because her father absolutely pushed her brother forward over her. Leopold was ambitious and patriarchal in the typical way of his time. He believed only men could succeed as musicians, and he saw Wolfgang as the best candidate to provide income for the family’s future. Anything Nannerl did was secondary and supplementary to her brother’s career.

In this movie, we see things from Nannerl’s side, starting with her devotion to her family and camaraderie with her brother, clearly based in their shared talent for and love of music. But she’s growing as a young woman and realizing the limitations that society places on her because of her gender. She feels like she has more to explore in her artistry, but with little to no support, she has to become resigned to a traditional fate. All this makes the film rather poignant, but it’s played lightly, and I wasn’t left depressed, just a bit annoyed at the patriarchy, as usual.

The music and visuals are a lovely accompaniment to the tale, although with a small cast, there’s only a few costumes at all. This is costume designer Dominique Louis’ only feature film credit on IMDB.com, but she has a long career in theater costuming. While I’m not the hair expert Kendra is, I was pleased by the hair and wig styling here, and seeing that the film’s key hair stylist Isabelle Bertaud got her first screen credit on La Révolution Française (1989), I can see why.

Have you seen Mozart’s Sister?

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