''Il Boemo'' () is a 2022 feature film about the life and career of the Czech composer Josef Mysliveček (1737–1781), directed by Petr Václav. Mysliveček was one of the most acclaimed and prolific composers of

opera seria ''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abo ...

in Italy in the second half of the eighteenth century, and mentor and friend to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The film stars Vojtěch Dyk, Elena Radonicich, Barbara Ronchi, and Lana Vlady. The music for the film has been recorded by the Czech ensemble Collegium 1704 led by Václav Luks, featuring international soloists such as Philippe Jaroussky, Emöke Baráth, Raffaella Milanesi, and Simona Šaturová. It was selected as the Czech entry for the

Best International Feature Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to ...

at the 95th Academy Awards. It premiered at 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival on September 19, 2022.

Plot

The son of a Prague miller, who expected him to follow in his footsteps, Mysliveček as a young man flees to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

to realize his dream of becoming a composer. Against all odds he manages, becomes known as "Il Boemo" (i.e. "Czech"), and his success surpasses even his own expectations. During the 1770s, he is at his most prolific, composing numerous works in the genre of Italian ''

''.

Cast

Production

The film is co-produced by the Czech Republic, Italy, and Slovakia, and was supported, among others, by the Czech Film Fund, the

Italian Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture ( it, Ministero della Cultura - MiC) is the ministry of the Government of Italy in charge of national museums and the ''monuments historiques''. MiC's headquarters are located in the historic Collegio Romano Palace (via ...

, and the Slovak Audiovisual Fund; the producer is Jan Macola and Mimesis Film, the co-producers are Marco Alessio (Dugong Film) in Italy, Marek Urban (sentimentalfilm) in Slovakia, and Czech Television and MagicLab in the Czech Republic. Petr Václav has singled out

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

’s ''

Barry Lyndon ''Barry Lyndon'' is a 1975 period drama film written, directed, and produced by Stanley Kubrick, based on the 1844 novel ''The Luck of Barry Lyndon'' by William Makepeace Thackeray. Starring Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Leonard ...

'', in relation to camera work, lighting, and narrative style, and

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech and American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968. Forman ...

’s '' Amadeus'', in terms of working with opera and music, as particular cinematic references.

Shooting locations

Shooting locations in the Czech Republic included the

Estates Theatre The Estates Theatre or Stavovské divadlo is a historic theater in Prague, Czech Republic. The Estates Theatre was annexed to the National Theatre in 1948 and currently draws on three artistic ensembles, opera, ballet, and drama, which perform a ...

, the Martinic Palace and the Colloredo–Mansfeld Palace in Prague, the château at

Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou (german: Jarmeritz) is a town in Třebíč District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zo ...

, the

Doksany Convent Doksany (german: Doxan) is a municipality and village in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 400 inhabitants. History The oldest settlement dates back between 4500 and 2500 BC. In 1993, archa ...

and the Cistercian monastery in Plasy, and the Mahen Theater in

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

Music

The music for the film has been recorded by the Czech ensemble Collegium 1704, founder and conductor Václav Luks also served as musical advisor for the film. The soundtrack will be released by Warner Classics on their

Erato In Greek mythology, Erato (; grc, Ἐρατώ) is one of the Greek Muses, which were inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius o ...

label. Another advisor was the American musicologist

Daniel E. Freeman Daniel Evan Freeman (born 27 April 1959) is an American musicologist who specializes in European art music of the eighteenth century, in particular the musical culture of eighteenth-century Prague and the Bohemian lands. He is also active as a ...

, author of the first modern monograph on Mysliveček.

Release

The film was selected for screening at the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival's main competition on 19 September 2022.

Reception

Box office

''Il Boemo'' grossed $546,351 worldwide against a production budget of about $5.7 million.

References

External links

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''Il Boemo'' at FilmItalia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boemo, Il 2020s Czech-language films 2020s German-language films 2020s Italian-language films Cultural depictions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Films about classical music and musicians Films about composers Films set in the 1760s Films set in the 1770s Films set in the 1780s Films set in Venice Films set in Naples Films set in Prague Films shot in Prague Czech historical films Italian historical films Slovak historical films Italian-language Czech films German-language Czech films Czech multilingual films 2020s Italian films 2022 multilingual films Czech Lion Awards winners (films)