Amadeus Relfection

Amadeus Movie Reflection

By Masha Westerveen

The time period was still a time where there were rich, as well as poor people. Servants were used, and poorer people wore more dull clothes than the richer ones. According to the movie, richer people wore much brighter clothes (jackets), mostly red, and gold, blue and in Mozart's case purple. It was also a time when people wore wigs on special occasion, and women wore large dresses, and men cloaks, and hats (which were taken off inside), and some wigs had something that looked like a pony tail, tied with a bow. And something that seemed strange to me, maybe it was just an accident, but all men seemed to be shaved. 

The art was mainly portraits at the time.The movie didn't really focus on the art, but there was one piece of art that attracted everyone's attention, which was the portrait of Mozart's dad. Afire Mozart's dad died, the portrait showed how much his father's death haunted him. And since the father was dead, a way the movie showed how much Mozart thought of him afterwards, was through the portrait at which he'd stare at. 

The most powerful there was the King, referred to as the majesty. He was the one who controlled when Mozart would hold his operas, and what specific songs he could sing. In the movie, every time Mozart had a problem, he would seek help from other composers, who would immediately be the ones to seek advice from the majesty. Apparently, the King also had the right to exclude operas and plays that weren't allowed for religious reasons. Then the King had his servants, who were also asked to give a advice to the King whenever necessary. Mozart w could have been of higher class, yet he suffered poverty because he wasted so much money on drinking. In the end his family was broke, and he had to beg for loans.

There were also maids (Mozart didn't know he needed one), who'd take care of the house cleaning. Antonio Salieri was a composer himself, and he owned a servant, which he used as a spy of Mozart. Yet he was very close to the King, and whenever he offered to "help" Mozart, he would refer to the King, telling him that it was the majesty's choice. 

I was really sad towards the end. I just couldn't help feeling sorry for Mozart, after all he had been through, to die of such young age, and because of drinking, felt like a waste of talent. Even though Mozart had done so much in his short life, had he lived longer, he would have managed to accomplish much more. He suffered depression, wasted his money on drinking, and ended up broke. What a poor way to end a life, when it could have went so well. With his successful music, Mozart could have made a fortune if only he had used his money properly. But I have a feeling that Mozart's music was liked more than Mozart himself. He was too full of himself, and called himself the best composer. Even if he was one, because of his egocentric attitude, he was liked less than he could have been.

I do not feel sorry at all for Antonio Salieri. Even in the state that Mozart was in, he couldn't feel pity at all. He was a crazy and heartless man, that no matter what happened to him afterwards, you just couldn't pity someone like that. But what led him to be so horrible? Jealousy. He was jealous of Mozart, and couldn't stand to see someone take his spotlight as a composer. 

Something personal I was quite upset towards the movie because of the death scene. Somehow, for a great person like Mozart, his funeral was not a great one. Apparently that was a ritual at the times in the place where Mozart died. But this movie proves that sometimes people with the best talents, are not the best people themselves. Mozart was a great composer, but as a person he wasn't great himself. And this movie also proves, that jealousy would get you nowhere but an asylum for crazy people.