It’s the title of a movie of course and I was in Crete lately and not in Venice and I’m still alive!
But when I was sitting at the beach almost alone and as I felt this total solitude how beautifully, it came to my head once the scene of the end of Luchino Visconti’s masterwork, when Dirck Borgarde in the movie: Death in Venic, as Gustav von Aschenbach (actually Gustav Mahler) sitting in his chair in the last minutes of his life, regards the perfect beauty, I thought; isn’t it a perfect death?,,
This film, I don’t know if you have seen it or have any interest in such as Neorealism Italian movies (I love them all!) has been made in 1971 and I saw it some years later, the interesting mixed of three Genius Artists: Thomas Mann the writer,Luchino Visconti the director and Gustav Mahler, (I think he had a special view on the beauty) it makes a perfect sense!
Oh yes, the Beauty, it is as I think the most adorable as a questionable issue of all time! I say this because, I, myself, am not and never be a homosexual though, I had a lot of homosexual friends in Iran.! And I must say that they were all artists, therefore, we have the same view on beauty, no matter of what kind (you can understand what I’m talking about). Beauty was the matter.
In this movie; there comes first the Author: Thomas Mann https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Mann He was a homosexual. Gustav Mahler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Mahler I don’t know if he was and Luchino Visconti; he was a man to recognise beauty. I know that because, I know some movies by him, especially, Conversation Piece. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversation_Piece_(film)
I can imagine that this one is an unknown or might be not so famous one at least for you; as I may be allowed to mention, we in Iran, as artists, tried to survive, the bred was not the problem but lack of arts was the main one. That was the motive for us to catch up with all the good things which had to do with the arts, therefore, we swallowed all the arts in the nigh (come what may). You know; those days the art had a meanig!
And I meant the Art, I am convinced that art is a gracious presence or “the presence” of God, and it helps us with no hesitation to find our path, the way to the certain aim. That’s all I can imagine.
Anyway, in this movie, Luchino Visconti, choose a wonderful set for his movie; Burt Lancaster, an old master of the act. And Helmut Berger, a wonderful actor, (+ a handsome Dorian Gray)
Let’s have a look (searching) for the Beauty “In meinem Lied”…
By making this video, Stephen Van Woert explains; Gustav Mahler (whom Visconti asserted to be Aschenbach in the film) composed “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen” (“I have become lost to the world”) in 1901, ten years before his untimely death. He said of this music, “It is truly me!” The words are from a poem by Friedrick Rückert. If you want to understand Mahler and Aschenbach, then you must understand the meaning of the song. Here is a translation:
I have become lost to the world With which I formerly wasted much time It has heard nothing from me for so long It may well believe me to be dead It is of no concern at all to me If it takes me for dead
[These two lines are omitted from the video: I can’t at all contradict it For in a real sense I am dead, dead to the world]
I am dead to the world’s turmoil And rest in a quiet realm I live solely in my heaven In my loving In my song!
That’s all about Arts, and nothing else 🙏💖🙏😊
lampmagician 