Mozartballs

A decidedly unusual contribution to the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, Larry Weinstein's cheeky, spirited documentary focuses not so much on the composer as on the curious ways in which some express their devotion to him. Viewers will meet aficionados who include a retired Swiss teacher who credits Mozart's music with having saved him from suicide (he's become both a rabid collector of Mozartiana and a regular visitor to Vienna); a California researcher who's fashioned a computer program that composes pieces in Mozart's style (he arranges for a soloist and orchestra to play one--a cello concerto); and an Austrian astronaut who carried into space the score of an aria from The Magic Flute, as well as some Mozartkugeln (Mozartballs), which are chocolate confections sold in gold wrappers emblazoned with the composer's portrait (the manufacturing company is also briefly profiled). Finally, we meet a woman from Stillwater, Oklahoma, who believes that her body is inhabited by Mozart's soul; she travels to Vienna along with her significant other, who's supposedly the reincarnation of the composer's beloved. An affectionate and sympathetic examination of the fragility of the human psyche and the variety of needs Mozart's remarkable legacy fills in the lives of many even after two-and-a-half centuries, Mozartballs is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)