Le charme de la Bohème

The best way to understand and appreciate this movie is to compare it with a similar, and much better, one, Moonstruck. This movie attempts to integrate the plot of Puccini's great opera, La Boheme, into a real life setting. It does so, sometimes with wonderful humor, but also, too often, with a lot of excessive melodrama.

Kiepura and Eggerth both sing beautifully in this picture. They also look their roles, which if you're used to Pavarotti and Scotto in Boheme will come as a very pleasant change. Eggerth is really a very fine actress. Kierpura gets along on good looks, a great smile, and a very beautiful voice.

One thing that did surprise me was his way of singing the pop tunes in the movie, one of which, Weine nicht, is really a great number. There is no finesse to his singing. He sings them loud almost without variation. Yes, he sounds great loud, but his contemporaries in this repertory, Richard Tauber, Wittrich, Herbert Ernst Groh, would have used more finesse, especially Tauber.

It's definitely worth a watch. But it's definitely not Moonstruck.

There were two primary reasons for seeing 'Zauber Der Boheme' ('Charm of La Boheme'). One was my love of Puccini's opera, which 'Zauber Der Boheme' updates. The other was Marta Eggerth, who has really grown on me recently.

'Zauber Der Boheme' may not be a great film, but it is a good one with wonderful music and two leads on top form. It is agreed that it does a little too excessively melodramatic in places, though to be fair there was always going to be the trap of that happening, and momentum sags occasionally The film's print is not always great, with the picture quality in need of more clarity and focus which would have allowed one to appreciate the otherwise beautiful cinematography better.

However, Eggerth is on top form, her performance is delicate, charming and moving with flashes of humour. She has an attractive presence too, while being believably frail when necessary, and sings a dream (singing music here that her voice is perfect for). Her real life husband Jan Kiepura is handsome, youthful and dashing, with the right touch of ardour and idealism. He doesn't fare too badly as an actor, if not as good as Eggerth, and while his singing does have a finesse in places it is a truly lovely sound and he sings with feeling and lively style. The two are magical together.

Eggerth and Kiepura are served well by a good supporting cast, with fun turns from Paul Kemp, Oscar Sima and Theo Liggins. It's all directed very capably and it's rarely dull.

Imperfect print aside, 'Zauber Der Boheme' is beautifully shot and sumptuously but also atmospherically produced in costumes and sets. The music is wonderful, as to be expected, while there is a lovely mix on the most part of wicked humour and tender pathos. The story compels and draws one right in, even though the surprises factor is low, right up to the heart-wrenching ending.

Overall, has a lot of charm, well performed and it delivers on the emotion. 7/10 Bethany Cox