Mahler

This is one of the few Ken Russell films that does not offer drugs or religious overtones as the major theme. Instead, MAHLER is a slow biopic about the life of composer Gustav Mahler. Although Powell's portrayal of the tortured genius is a fine one, the story drags on like a politician's speech and would have benefitted from the infusion of imagery that has become Russell's trademark. The film is a series of flashbacks on a train as Powell is returning to Vienna for the final coda of his life. The flashbacks concern the artist's rotten youth, his relationship with wife Hale (not a very good one), his conversion from Judaism (as he is elected to a high post and bow...