A Song for Martin

A film to learn from - in many, many ways. And a difficult film to watch. It moved me a lot. More shocking than any thriller. It reminds me of my own great fear of getting ill in this way. Or my wife for that matter. Terrible. And must terrible is, that this disease makes you another person - and you can't do anything in order to prevent it - besides living in perfect harmony.

The actors were great. And the music. And the nice pictures from the seaside, where the couple lived.

Just one (big) complain: The symbol in the end is too heavy and spoiling. Her life must go on: she starts the clock again. Come on ...

A story about deep love and how it can overcome any obstacle. Barbara's and Martin's love is put to the test when their doctor diagnose Martin with Alzheimer's disease. For Martin, as a famous composer, it gets more and more difficult to finish an opera due to his sickness, which also strains his relationship with his wife Barbara. Her love and constant reminiscence of their past makes her treat him as fully healthy for much too long.

Both Viveka Seldahl as Barbara and Sven Wollter as Martin are making a wonderful performance in the leading roles. Seldahl is able to use her face the show any kind of expression as the disease turns her beloved husband from a hardworking composer to a bedridden hospital patient. It is nice to finally see her in a leading role. And Wollter is thoroughly credible as the man suffering from a disease that slowly but surely will take his senses from him. We as the audience should ask ourselves if the man finally admitted to hospital is the same man Barbara married. The tragedy of Alzheimer's disease face us with a question if somebody's personality has something innate that will withstand loss of memory or dementia. To Barbara, at least, it is clear that Martin's illness does not change what she feels for her husband: love.

Also worth accolades is the beautiful score by Stefan Nilsson.

(2001) A Song For Martin/ En sång för Martin (In Swedish with English subtitles) DRAMA

Co-written, co-produced and directed by Bille August with senior violinist, Barbara (Viveka Seldahl) and music composer/ conductor Martin choosing to leave their long time potential spouses to marry each other, and it isn't long "Martin" the title of the movie is referring to, begins to show some of the first signs of alzheimer's, forcing Barbara's hand to make adjustments.

"A Song for Martin" may be the first movie that addresses alzheimer's but it's not the best to address the problem as I thought "Away From Her" was far superior as it does not let the character who suffers from the disease continue to humiliate himself on front of people, for it's already bad enough that he suffers from it.

While `A song for Martin' is a powerful movie, it is also a sort of impotent one. One of the hobbyhorses of my high school literature teacher was to make us understand the difference between what is tragic and dramatic. A car accident is tragic. A car going over a cliff driven by someone fulfilling his inescapable destiny is drama. Alzheimer's is a tragic disease, but it is not drama. Unavoidable is not a substitute for inescapable. You cannot have drama without participation while participation is the last thing you can expect from someone suffering from the disease. This is a very well made movie. Acting is superb; cinematography is fine. I learned from it everything I would ever care to know about Alzheimer's, but I still left the theatre with an empty feeling. The story is sad, the loss is painful and love conquers everything but I had no revelations. I received information, from which I only gained knowledge, not real gut wrenching understanding. I never cared much about acted documentaries and this film never really rose above that.

`A song for Martin' has a very promising start. Passionate love at the age of 50/60 is full of dramatic potential. For a while I thought that is what the movie will be about, but I was wrong. There are hints of dramatic conflict but they are never explored and from the moment Martin is diagnosed, the story turns purely didactic. Dealing with such a situation also has dramatic potentials but this movie choose to concentrate on the evolution of the illness. Is that bad? I don't know, but gaining this sort of knowledge is not what I expect from art.

Should you see this movie? I think so. You will learn a lot about the illness most of us fear the most. Just do not expect more. See it for what it is: an animated illustration of the disease. For that, it is perfect.

Caught this film late one night, cold Colorado winter night, and could not walk away to a warm bed.

Well done, cast and crew deserve to be proud of themselves, if this is the director's wish. Never knew much about Swedish foreign film.

Bergman, of course, but not this director. Echoes of Bergman were felt.

The actors who played the leads, Martin and Barabara were perfect and carried the story. I felt their love and pain.

The summer picnic conversation around Mozart's The Magic Flute, was the metaphysical key to the lock for me. Two questions are discussed, light overcomes darkness and even the departed, are still alive and above all love survives all.

Watching the different levels of old timers pull them down into its oblivion, we see the struggles of the two lovers grasping the threads of their love, against the winds of madness.

Nancy Reagen, remarked, "They know from their side, that they are being taken away, against their will, and the look of desperation is haunting. It is the worst stage of the disease." In the last scene, Barbara moves in to Kiss Martin, and he mistakes this movement, to mean food, and opens his mouth, like a bird....its poignant and sweet.

Would own this DVD, as it gave me something I want to keep. I want to know more about the director, and the two major actors now.

SARGE