by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
Remaking classic intellectual property is something that is often frowned upon by many cinephiles. However, as someone who’s struggled in the past to connect with classic stories, like Emma for example, I’ve found updating it for a modern audience, like the recent 2020 remake did, makes it easier for me to connect.
So, when I saw a trailer was coming out for what looked like a new, updated version of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute, I was intrigued. Aside from a couple of clips I think I vaguely recall from a middle school music class, I had no prior knowledge of the original opera or any of its various adaptations, like the 1975 film directed by Ingmar Bergman.
In this retelling, we’re introduced to Tim (Jack Wolfe), who travels to Austria to attend the same Mozart boarding school for musically gifted students his late father did, while carrying along a copy of the titular opera that his father stole while he was a student. While trying to find his way in his new school, he’s swept into the fantastical world of The Magic Flute opera, where he must pose as Prince Tamino and complete the quest there to save the kingdom.
Given both the boarding school aesthetic and the fantasy setting, it’s understandable if it’s giving you Harry Potter vibes. And here’s the thing: That’s not necessarily bad. The problem with this adaptation is that it doesn’t pick a lane. It adds in this updated story for the 21st century, while reverting back largely to the musical format of the opera when it goes fantastical. The decision to both stick with the opera and try to modernize the story means it can’t really succeed at either — even if I can see how they try to tie it all together. Sure, Mozart’s music is classic, and it’s used wisely and well in the score for the film. It works great in that context. That doesn’t make characters breaking out into the full-blown opera feel any more discordant. In addition, even though the lyrics are in English, operatic subtitles still would have been welcome as some of the lyrics became undecipherable to my ears based on the octaves the singers (admittedly impressively) hit. It gives the adaptation an uneven feel and left me as an audience member feeling confused at times. And that confusion wreaks havoc throughout.
Wolfe does well in a role that asks a lot of him. I even think he manages to have chemistry with both his crush in the real world, Sophiie (Niamh McCormack), and Princess Pamina (Asha Banks) in the fantasy realm. However, with the way the story is structured and with it being just two hours, I don’t feel like I got to spend enough time with either of the pairings to be fully invested. That really comes home to roost as the film tries to wrap up and each story conclusion feels ridiculous — even without the odd acknowledgement that comes at the end of the fantasy storyline.
The rest of the performances are all over the map. Certain performances are fine, like Amir Wilson as the boarding school bully. Others felt over the top, with Stefan Konarske’s Monostatos feeling straight up cartoonish. By far my favorite performance of the film is Iwan Rheon as Tim’s questing companion Papageno. Perhaps it was the fact that it was so different from his role in Game of Thrones as Ramsay Bolton, but I thought he was an utter delight.
If these contradictions are frustrating you, let that be a small sample of my own frustrations as I tried to reconcile the tonal tightrope this movie attempted to walk.
Overall, I can’t help but feel our quest was doomed from the moment it began, thanks to the path that the creators chose to take. I don’t know that a full commitment to a modern update would have resulted in a great movie, and if they would’ve gone full-on operatic, they wouldn’t have gotten eyeballs of those that are averse to them (like me). However, by failing to commit to either, I don’t know that this adaptation will be able to please anyone.
Score: 5/10
The Magic Flute is currently playing limited in theaters
You can read more from Jake Bourgeois, and follow him on Twitter and Letterboxd