''Chopin: Desire for Love'' ( pl, Chopin. Pragnienie miłości) is a film created by the director Jerzy Antczak based on the life story of the Polish pianist and composer
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...
.
The plot covers the affair between Chopin and feminist writer George Sand. Chopin's music is integral to the film, with pianist Janusz Olejniczak playing his works.''Chopin" site accessed 20 July 2018 Two versions of the film were shot—in Polish and English—with British actors later lip-syncing the dialogue. Antczak spent 25 years writing the screenplay and six years raising the budget for the film.
The film was screened at
Houston Film Festival
The WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, founded in 1968, is an annual film festival held annually in April in Houston, Texas. Notable festival alumni include John Lee Hancock, who wrote and directed the Oscar-winning film '' The Blind S ...
in 2003 and won the Gold Award for Best Cinematography and the Platinum Award for Best Drama.
Plot
The film starts when Frédéric Chopin is still a young man living with his parents and his two sisters in Warsaw where he frequently plays the piano and composes music for the decidedly unmusical Grand Duke Constantine. Shortly before the
November Uprising
The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution,
was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...
, Chopin's father urges him to leave for Paris, which Frédéric does. Once in Paris he meets novelist George Sand, who has just split from her violent lover Mallefille. Although he is immediately drawn to Sand, he initially refuses her advances. However, after several months, their mutual friend Albert urges Chopin to get to know George better and a passionate romance starts to build. During their affair, Chopin is diagnosed with tuberculosis and has to cope with a declining health. The relationship is further complicated by George's two children: Maurice and Solange. While Maurice's near-hysterical hatred of Chopin leads from one escalation to the other, Solange develops an obsessive love for Chopin which leads to a rivalry between Solange and her mother. After several years of constant fighting between Chopin, George, Maurice and Solange, the relationship ends and Chopin calls for one of his sisters to help him get through the last days of his life.
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
Ludwika Chopin Ludwika is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Ludwika Jędrzejewicz (1807–1855), sister of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin
*Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł (1667–1695), magnate of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Polish-Lith ...
Jacek Rozenek
Jacek Rozenek (born 31 March 1969 in Warsaw) is a Polish stage, movie, television and voice actor. Among other roles, he is known for being the original Polish voice of Geralt of Rivia in '' The Witcher'' video games.Jean Pierre Félicien Mallefille: George Sand's first lover
* Marian Opania as Jan: Chopin's servant