Mozart's Sister

Like Amadeus, this wintry, melancholic period piece addresses a little known aspect of Mozart's life, but this one takes fewer liberties with the facts. It's set in the 1760s when Wolfgang (David Moreau) is still a child prodigy and on the road in Europe performing at various royal courts with older sister Nannerl (Marie Féret). She is an accomplished harpsichord player in her own right and also has ambitions to compose, but according to the conventions of the day, that is an occupation strictly for men only. However, Nannerl finally gets her chance after striking up an unlikely friendship with the music-loving but disturbed heir to the French throne (Clovis Fouin). It's a moving account of frustrated artistic ambition, and Féret is terrific in what is very much a family affair; it's written and directed by her father René, while her little sister Lisa plays her best friend Louise, one of the French king's forgotten children.