it's all too human

Amadeus (movie, '84)

not sure what impression the movie was intended to achieve, surprisingly, i really liked Salieri, the insufferable musician, whose wonderful life was cast into shadow and ruined by Mozart, the genius.

i can easily relate to him and share his pain, not under the context of music, but in general. when each individual looks into himself, he simply sees wonder - how much he can do and what potential he really possesses! it is therefore only natural to be inspired that there must be a purpose instilled within. and, needless to say, the more talented, the stronger such sense of destiny. so Salieri, being so gifted and passionate about music, started on a high note.

yet, all gifts are relative - there is always someone better. far better. and any “other-worldly” achievements do not come by matter-of-factly. thus, for the majority of highly ambitious people, instead of feeling achievement, life lends a sense of failure, wasted dreams and bundles of disappointments. to me, Salieri just exemplified such an "all too human" human emotion.

on the bright side, at least, Salieri obviously had enjoyed the beauty of the heavenly music by Mozart, albeit through enormous pain (actually, some are convinced that pain is the ultimate appreciation of beauty, contrasting the latter with its intensity and futility?). A less gifted might be so blindly mad that he couldn't even tell good from bad.

Salieri’s questioning to god, like a whining baby, was cute, too - human beings are entitled to do that, often having to suffer so endlessly and senselessly. his jealousy did lead him to do a few foolish things, which, to be generous, were within the tolerable human weakness.

all in all, i was overwhelmed and enchanted by Mozart’s music but my sympathy went to Salieri, sort of seeing a more comical and tragic self. actually, i felt so much like helping that i wanted him to read my own piece on dealing with failure.;-)