Amadeus

Reminds me a lot of Barry Lyndon in the sense that it’s a period piece about the bitterness of the perceived common man and the lengths we go through to achieve what we think we can’t get. Initially the American accents and the outlandishly campy depiction of Mozart threw me off but I think its silliness lends itself to a more compelling story. Like Salieri you’re not supposed to get Mozart, he’s like a mythical being, unreachable , eccentric, esoteric. He represents something out of our grasps. I would argue that it’s more silly to depict his genius in a way that is more serious in a similar vein to Salieri. That would be too familiar and in the audience’s field of vision. I think this film’s greatest achievement is that it walks a fine line between obsessive jealousy and respect. The scene where Salieri writes out Mozart’s requiem score and it’s as if Salieri just touched the hands of God himself is one of the best scenes of the film; Salieri’s pride and ego got in the way of what could’ve been a healthy collaborative relationship.