Spring Symphony (Frühlingssinfonie)

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Drama

Whatever it is about 19th century composer Robert Schumann and his pianist wife Clara Wieck that fascinates filmmakers, it is a strong enough fascination to prompt a retelling of the Schumanns' lives every few years. First, there was the 1947 Katharine Hepburn/Paul Henreid film vehicle Song of Love.

Then there was a well-received 1950s episode of The Loretta Young Show. And in 1983, we were treated to the German-made Spring Symphony (originally Fruehlingssinfonie).

This time around, Nastassja Kinski is Clara and Herbert Gronemeyer is Robert; the story of how fame can destroy the relationship between a sensitive woman and a workaholic man remains the mixture as before.

Oddly, given the usual warts and all movie mentality of the 1980s, Spring Symphony is even more fanciful and romanticized than earlier versions of the Schumann saga.