Where is the Dvd?!
Everything I wanted to say to praise this film is already been written.
I just want to add: Should we change the name of the movie to The Meeting
Venus Massacre and insert a scene with Britney Spears singing Un Bel Di
with a disco beat?. You would find the widescreen special edition dvd
in the stores in a few days. How Sad.

Szabo's Opera
"Meeting Venus" is sadly one of the least respected and watched films by the great Hungarian filmmaker Istvan Szabo. And what a pity that is! I had the honor (and it was indeed a great honor) of meeting Istvan Szabo, and we talked about his work and the impact his work has left on me. Not once did he mention this film.

"Meeting Venus" seems to be working on a few levels. It is kind of hard to pin down exactly one theme I feel the movie is playing around with most. I can see a social comment on the "new Europe". This film was made in 1991. The "cold war" has come to an end. The former "Eastern bloc" is now free. With that in mind, how will the "east" and "west" now get along? I can also see a comment being made about the importance of art. The film is about a production of Wagner's "Tannhauser" and the complication which go along with the rehearsals.

A Hungarian conductor, Zoltan Szanto (played by non-Hungarian actor Niels Arestrup) has been sent to Paris at the request of Jorge Picabia (the great Ingmar Bergman actor, Erland Josephson) and fellow Hungarian Jean Gabor (Mosko Alkalai) to conduct their new version of "Tannhauser" which will star a tempermental Swedish diva (played by American actress Glenn Close). With such an international cast, also consisting of Italians, Frenchmen and Germans, we are getting a commentary on how these group of strong nationalist are going to get along and unit into one Europe. As the production goes on however Szanto and Karin Anderson (Close) begin to have an affair. Something Karin is no stranger to and doesn't seem to mind Szanto has a wife, Edith (Dorottya Udvaros).

For those who don't know what "Tannhauser" is about, to put it briefly it deals with the struggle between sacred and profane love, and redemption through love based on two Germanic legends. And we can definitely see that being mirror in the film due to the relationship between the conductor and the diva and the conductors committment to finish the opera.

In this sense "Meeting Venus" resembles a film many people seem to think is Szabo's best work, "Mephisto". That film also dealt with the challenges and responsibilities an artist must face. If you recall Klaus Maria Brandauer would constantly say "I'm only an actor", meaning, as I interpret it, I can cannot change the world. I am helpless and must only deal with my art. We are getting a somewhat similar message here in this film but in an opposite form. The conductor is trying to tell everyone, art must bring us together. As artist we have a shared power and responsibility.

In the opening scene of the film Szanto complains how is mistreated in the west (Paris) and his passport is inspected and he is the only person who has his luggage searched. He muses to himself,can they smell Eastern Europe on him? Why don't they accept us as part of Europe? To this very day there is some tension between "east" and "west". As a Hungarian myself, with many friends still in Hungary, they have ill feelings towards western Europe. Here, in these scenes Szabo is making a comment on this tension.

While I must admit "Meeting Venus" does not reach the heights of Istvan Szabo's other works such as "Father", "Love Film", "Mephisto" or my personal favorite "Sunshine" it is still an engaging film. It ask us to think about things and how we view the world. It doesn't deserve the lack of attention it has been meet with from audiences. It is a very good film and should be put on DVD. Nearly all of Szabo's other films are, so why not? The film was also nominated for the "Golden Lion" at the Venice Film Festival.

Bottom-line: Engaging, intelligent film which sadly has not found much of an audience. Maybe because it was made by Szabo or people were afraid it would be in Hungarian or because it is about an opera, regardless the film deserves a second chance.

Operatic soap opera
The VHS box calls this "Romantic comedy at its finest." And several reviewers have praised the film"s operatic music. Nonsense. This is a soap opera, featuring very little music, almost no comedy (especially if you find making fun of gays less than amusing), and lots of tears and angst. Yes, the movie does make a good point about the difficulties of unions and nationalities in contemporary opera. File that under "labor relations" rather than entertainment. And Glenn Close, as always, is a fine actress. But what a bore this film is. Who cares if the neurotic singer and the even more neurotic conductor go to bed with each other for ever? This film is also about "putting on a show," and in the end the show is just so darn good that everyone cries and hugs each other. I prefer Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. I'm now ready to watch a DVD of Tannhauser--without the bathos.

The art as only device for not dying of truth!
The tumultuous preparation of Wagner 's Tannhauser will work out as fabulous hook to this superb director (once of the top ten directors all over the world) to express the art is the only device to rejoin the different cultures and with major emphasis a continent: Europe.

Until this date I have not seen any film of this outstanding director that may be classified of minor. He has this devoted feature, the Midas touch, a symptomatic characteristic of the genius in progress.

The cast is fabulous. Glenn Close had to be nominated to the Academy Award for this unerring and towering performance. Glenn Close 's voice is dubbed by Kiri Te Kanawa.

bellisima venus
Hace tiempo vi esta magnifica produccion y desde entonces he pensado en adquirirla para mis tertulias de profesor de apreciacion musical. Lamentablemente solamente presentamos musica en DVD's. Anhelamos todos que esta gran pelicula sea llevada a este medio audio-visual. De la musica solo quisiera decir que esta muy bien elegida y las interpretaciones de Dame Kiri Te Kanawa merecen diez estrellas al menos. Me gustaria que todos los amantes de la musica clasica se unieran a este pedido mio para pedir la version en DVD. Gracias.