Death In Venice
Classic drama about a composer’s obsessive love for a teenage boy, based on Thomas Mann's eponymous novella.
Composer Gustav von Aschenbach travels to Venice for health reasons. Once there, he falls under the spell of the perfect beauty of Polish teenage boy Tadzio, who is staying with his family in the same hotel. When a cholera epidemic breaks out in the city, Von Aschenbach decides to stay, obsessed with the beautiful boy who barely gives him the time of day.
In Thomas Mann’s novella, von Aschenbach is not a composer but a writer. However, the Italian film maker Luchino Visconti decided to base the character on the composer Gustav Mahler. Mahler’s music – especially the Adagietto from the Fifth Symphony – plays a crucial role in the film.
Please note: In April, Lumière will also show the documentary THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY IN THE WORLD, documenting the tragic impact of DEATH IN VENICE on the life of actor Björn Andrésen, Tadzio in the film.