The extraordinary life of Sergiu Celibidache. From his childhood in Romania, to his exile in pursuit of a career in music, his struggle for survival in wartime Germany and his rise, fall and rise again, in an unimaginable life journey.
This biopic honours a towering figure in music, Romanian conductor and composer Sergiu Celibidache (Ben Schnetzer). The story moves back and forth in time, beginning in Celibidache’s youth in Romania in the post-WWI years, where he grew up in a prosperous family. His father had ambitious plans for his son to one day be the prime minister of Romania, but young Sergiu was already drawn to composing music. Eventually he parted ways with his family, first playing piano in clubs and ballet classes in Bucharest, and eventually moving to Berlin to study composition. This was the 1930s, and the Nazi grip was tightening. Romanians were considered “gypsies” and an unwanted part of the German population. Despite this, at the end of the war he earned the position of principal conductor of the prestigious Berlin Philharmonic, where he excelled. John Malkovich brings further weight to the film as the older Celibidache. Directed by his son Serge, the movie frames this story with a sense of personal reckoning, reflecting on questions of identity, exile and inheritance. As it charts Celibidache’s refusal to conform, both in his art and in his life, the narrative carries the imprint of a son trying to understand the man behind the legend. (In English with some subtitles)
Romania 2025 Serge Ioan Celebida 145m
