It's really tricky to make a musical biopic interesting. Movies about singers are easy, but audiences often struggle to keep up with the life of a classical musician. Young Toscanini focuses on a brief period of time in Arturo Toscanini's life, when he was, well, young. He starts out as a cello player, and when he visits Brazil during an orchestral tour, his life changes.
Franco Zeffirelli directed the film, and he certainly knows how to make a realistic period piece! Everything, from the lighting to the costumes, from the sets to the colors and textures of Elizabeth Taylor's makeup looks authentically late-1800s. I really felt immersed in the time period. The only part of the movie that wasn't realistic was the idea of Liz Taylor being an opera singer. Anyone who saw her in A Little Night Music knows that's ridiculous.
But, besides that, it's a really interesting and well-made film. It's not just a movie full of classical music. There's romance, friendship, and a moral argument. Toscanini and his sweetie-pie take a public stand against slavery, and the movie shows this without any graphic upsets for the audience.
If you don't like music at all, you probably won't like Young Toscanini, but if you are interested in this time period, or the musician himself, give it a try. I liked this movie far better than Amadeus. You might, too.
