The mediocre and the genius!

Rating: 7/10 (12 April 2006)

A rip-roaring film about the problems that occur when you have a passion but not the talent to create outstanding work in the area of your passion. On the one hand, there is Salieri, a man whose entire life is devoted to music and who can't think of anything else 24/7, but who lacks the genius it takes to be remembered for his work by people two hundred years from now. And then, Mozart: a childish, immature kid who composes the greatest operas ever with the utmost easiness and who knows that he is a genius and therefore despises all the musicians and composers that are beneath him. I feel with Salieri. He is not an unsympathetic character at all, I understood most of his actions and I truly understand why he is envious of Mozart. After all, he is right: What is the point in working your life out in order to create something that will be forgotten the minute you die or even before. What is the point of striving for some kind of recognition, if, no matter what you do, there are at least a thousand people who know how to do it better? If you think of all the works of art throughout the centuries then there is probably just a handful of works that are worth being mentioned. Think of all the people who devoted their entire life to art but who never managed to amuse anyone but contemporary society. It's a shame, isn't it. Nowadays art has become an industry: We are confronted with more and more works of art, but which of these works can truly be called a stroke of genius! Very few, I believe!