Letzte Liebe: A dusty Viennese postcard that's hard to read

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a very specific craving for 1930s European melodrama. If you want something snappy, keep walking. People who love stuffy, polite, "gentlemanly" dramas might find it charming, but anyone who prefers their movies to actually, you know, move will probably fall asleep by the second act.

It’s the kind of movie that feels like it was filmed inside a velvet-lined box. Everything is very proper, very quiet, and just a little bit suffocating.

The Setup

We’ve got this shy student from Japan, taking singing lessons in Vienna. Vienna! It’s all very romantic in theory, but in practice, it’s mostly just people standing in rooms and looking concerned. She gets pulled into this dynamic with an old composer who thinks she’s his muse. Then there’s the nephew, the conductor, who clearly isn't thrilled about his uncle's new hobby.

There’s a weird power imbalance here that the movie doesn't really address. It just treats the old guy's obsession as artistic inspiration. Which, fine, that’s how they did it back then, but it makes the whole thing feel a bit dusty and uncomfortable today.

Notes from the couch

• The music is lovely, obviously. It’s Vienna. What else would you expect?
• The way the characters stand around in those fancy parlors makes me want to stretch my legs.
• I kept thinking about Wonder of Women and how that one managed to feel a bit more alive, despite the age gap drama.
• There is a specific reaction shot of the nephew looking at his uncle that lasts about three seconds too long. It’s almost funny.
• The dialogue is so polite it feels like a fencing match where nobody actually wants to hit anyone.

It’s not a bad film, just a very small one. It doesn't try to be anything other than a polite little story about music and romance. Sometimes it feels like the actors are waiting for the director to yell 'cut' just so they can sit down and have a coffee. ☕

It’s not as dramatic as The Truant Soul, and it definitely lacks the grit of some of those other period pieces I’ve been watching lately. If you like your dramas polite and slightly predictable, go for it. If not, maybe skip it.