Before I look at this film I must clarify a thing: I'm an unconditional opera fan, I think its the most complete art form that exists, since it harmonizes several forms of art, namely music, theater, singing and often dancing. When its well made, opera is a feast for the senses which is only harmed by a huge and unjust elitism, blamed for the exorbitant ticket prices. So I know very well "The Magic Flute", with Mozart's music on a Schikaneder text. Having made this clarification, let's talk about the film.Kenneth Branagh is a brave guy, it takes some courage to adapt Shakespeare to the movies and he did it more than once. So it doesn't surprise me that he had the guts to turn one of the most famous comic operas ever into a movie. Its almost iconoclastic, especially for the purists, but he did it! The film is very beautiful and the transition to the cinema didn't harm music at all. Mozart's melodies are almost all there, only omitting elements most related to the Masonic apology that Mozart and Schikaneder wanted to do. Most singers aren't famous and Rene Pape, in the role of Sarastro, is the most easily recognizable name. Personally, I think there would be no problem in betting on experienced and well-known singers, as long as they were prepared for the demands of film work. The work of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe also deserves a note of congratulations.Anyone who knows the original libretto immediately realizes that the context and environment of the story has been totally changed: action no longer happens in a world of fairy tales, but during a war, clearly inspired by First World War, but this raises a problem: some characters never properly fit into this environment, as the Queen of the Night. There was also an effort to make the story more politically correct, as the original opera is, sometimes, racist and misogynist. Don't blame Mozart for that, it was the mentality of people back then. Even so, these changes have made some characters meaningless. This is what happened to Monostatos who, in the original opera, is a Muslim from North Africa, portrayed according to the prejudices of that time.In the midst of some flaws arising from the changes made to the environment in which the story takes place, the film is very enjoyable. Of course, Mozart's music will always be the element that will draw people to watch it, but personally I think its also an interesting way to awaken for the opera some people who, otherwise, would never have the curiosity to give a chance to this beautiful art form.

Based on the 1791 opera "Die Zauberflöte" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, this is certainly a well made film but I can't say that I particularly enjoyed it. As far as opera is concerned, I am a complete philistine and this film did not nothing to change that, I'm afraid. I had never seen a full one on stage or on screen before this film and I am not inclined to watch another one after this. It felt far, far longer than two hours. As with Richard Attenborough's worst film "A Chorus Line", I would never have watched the film if it had been made by one of my favourite directors, in this case Kenneth Branagh. His skill as a director is in evidence throughout the film, most notably the uninterrupted and extremely complex six minute take, and the decision to set it against the backdrop of the First World War was an interesting one but there was little else than I enjoyed about it. The singing was excellent but it was rather overwhelming since it accounted for almost the entire running time. Having just finished the film, I am pretty exhausted, to be frank.Overall, it is not a bad film by any means but it was just not to my personal tastes at all. Hey, at least I can say that I gave opera a try! That box is ticked now. This is without a doubt my least favourite film directed by Branagh.

First, I must say I am not an opera fan. Other than watching opera in Bugs Bunny cartoons and in the movie Amadeus, I don't do it. I don't do foreign language thingies and have never (I am in my 50's) been to an opera. So, I am a self admitted cultural dolt when it comes to Opera and can't compare this movie to the original intent.That being said, because it was featured in Amadeus, the Magic Flute has sparked a curiosity that never amounted to much more than listening to the overture. Until.....I saw this on Netflix.I watched this and was blown away. Granted, I did add the captions so I could understand the words, came to the IMDb to read about the movie to learn that the actors were the singers.The Queen of the Night?!?! She was excellent in her role. The way it was filmed, she looked insane during her aria. I was blown away. So much, I got my teenage daughter to watch it with me (her exposure to opera was via the same Bugs Bunny Cartoons and Amadeus). She was blown away too. And by reading how it was intended on the internet, I was amazed by the vision of Kenneth B. when he upgraded the setting and translated it into English. Thank you so much for doing so. If your goal was to introduce Opera to the unlearned masses (such as me), you succeeded. I only regret that I did not have the opportunity to see this in the theater as I would have gone to see it multiple times.For the snobs that rue how it wasn't a stage production, I respectfully disagree. I loved this film and would recommend it to anybody to watch it on Netflix. And if you have a rocking home theater system, turn it up to 11 when you watch it. Rattle the windows and rock the house.

This is, if I counted correctly, the twelfth version of the Magic Flute to appear on film; this opera is now in the same category of classic as Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet. I enjoyed it; it's just not a great version of Mozart's most beautiful opera. Having to follow Bergman's classic version of 1975 when he doesn't have Bergman's genius must have been a little nightmarish for Branagh. The First World War setting does nothing for our understanding of the opera's meaning: Sarastro is turned into a kind of apostle of peace amid the chaos and destruction of war, sort of a New Age Jesus. The Masonic symbolism is missing, Monostatos's part becomes pointless, there is very little theatricality in the production (strange when you think of Branagh's Shakespeare films, especially Hamlet).The singers are almost all young and fresh. Benjamin Jay Davis impressed me as Papageno, Silvia Moi was pert as Papagena, and Lyubov Petrova was really hard-edged and fierce looking as the Queen of the Night. The Chamber Orchestra of Europe under James Conlon provided much of my pleasure.