Idéale audience

Alexandre Tharaud, Beethoven - Last Sonatas

A man wanders through an abandoned home. He explores the space as if lost in a labyrinth. Time has deteriorated the floors, nature is taking over each room. This exploration is interrupted when, in the middle of a vast room, the man discovers a piano covered under a sheet. The instrument is an object of reminiscence on which the last Beethoven sonatas will be performed, while the camera continues to wander through the rooms.Slow travelling shots dwell on the textures, the details of the objects left behind, playing with shadows and light. Beethoven’s last three sonatas – Opus 109, 110 and 111 – explore the intimate meanders of the human soul, from despair to transfiguration. At the time of their composition, Beethoven was already locked in himself by his deafness. This deeply affected his relationship to others and to the world. This « psychological framework » is explored by director Mariano Nante, setting pianist Alexandre Tharaud in a film inspired by the universe of Tarkovski.