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Review

Visconti's exquisite epic about mad King Ludwig of Bavaria details his relationships with the composer Wagner as well as his passion for young boys. Through a series of talking heads, each of accusation, the downfall of one of Europe's most tragic and historically enigmatic figures is brought to life. Helmut Berger (in all of his European beauty) is "the mad king of Bavaria," who saw himself as a poet and architect of dreams through the construction of Gothic castles for his people's destiny of happiness, and who ironically, as he was slowly going mad, secluded himself in his self-made "prison." His friendships with Wagner and other artists eventually became a vampire on the Bavarian state's gold vein, which ultimately created enemies within the walls of his reluctant empire. Visconti's offers an opulent vision of the tale through the costumes and actual castle sets. His characters are often too cold to allow for sympathy, but his vision opens the realities of a world more too often intolerant of anything in quest of personified passion. (Italian with English subtitles)

 -- Raymond Murray