‘Louis van Beethoven’: watch trailer for new film exploring Ludwig’s life
16 December 2020, 12:55 | Updated: 16 December 2020, 13:03
From young prodigy to troubled genius – a new German film explores the turbulent life of Ludwig van Beethoven in this, his 250th anniversary year.
“Soon the world will know his name...”
A new biopic is coming out this December, exploring the life and music of beloved German composer, Ludwig van Beethoven.
The film follows Beethoven’s journey from prized prodigy, including his early years when he was known as ‘Louis’, to a troubled genius, tortured by his own deafness.
It leads us through a timeline of Beethoven’s life, from lessons with his father to making his way to Vienna at the end of the 18th century to study with Haydn, where the young composer would break every rule in the book – much to the dismay of his family and mentors.
“Who will listen to it?” a teacher asks of Beethoven’s music in the trailer (watch below). “All that dissonance, all those voices. They don’t fit together.”
Read more: Famous figures share what Beethoven’s music means to them, in 250 words >
LOUIS VAN BEETHOVEN Trailer
With the background of the French revolution, we see things change for Beethoven. “The voice of liberty is growing louder,” the teenage musician is told. “You can compose the music for that voice.”
The film takes us to the end of Beethoven’s life, when he was tortured by his deafness and desperate to live in full – as he always had – a life in music.
In the trailer, as we can expect in the biopic itself, a soundtrack of Beethoven’s music plays, moving in typical style from glorious bursts of sunshine to moments of extraordinary pain and torment.
In the cast, three different actors play Beethoven: Tobias Moretti (as an adult), Colin Pütz (as a child), and Anselm Bresgott (as a young man).
Made by Beta Film, the film is written and directed by German filmmaker Niki Stein. It was premiered at the Biberacher Filmfestspiele this Autumn and will appear on TV in Germany on Christmas Day.
No international release dates have been confirmed yet.
