Moonlight Sonata
It’s not often that you get to see a former prime minister in an acting role. Or a great classical pianist, for that matter. In 1937’s Moonlight Sonata you get both, and in the shape of a single person – Ignacy Jan Paderewski, the Polish pianist who gave up his music career to serve his country as prime minister, then gave it up again decades later when his country repeated the call during the Second World War. There are two films awkwardly sandwiched together here, both featuring Paderewski, who’s functional in the first, ornamental in the second. The first opens with 20 minutes of straight-up footage of Paderewski playing in a concert hall. … Read more