Sorry to disappoint but classical music is one aspect of my philistinism. And Death in Venice is always a film I’ve tended to avoid, possibly because of all the fuss at the time of its release. I’m ashamed to say that I probably heard/’read’ the use of Mahler’s music as connoting feelings such as sadness etc. I’m glad you enjoyed the film though!

What I found I liked about the film was the relationship between the two lead characters, Michel and Dora (the shift from the formal “vous” [you] to the more intimate “tu” – a key moment – is significantly instigated by Dora). Another feature I liked was the spooky, uncanny atmosphere when they upped the ante with the paranormal aspect (which, I admit, freaked me out for a few minutes). I can see where some critics are coming from with the “cod philosophy” criticism but it’s not the kind of film that is damaged by it. The “philosophy” is more of a pretext or a context that put into relief the relationship between Michel and Dora and an exploration of the key themes Roy referred to – growing old, romance, coming to terms with the death of a loved one.

A final point. Roy said music was used sparingly but the only music I recall (though the credits refer to a couple of other pieces), and played repeatedly and at the most intense moments in the film, was the fourth movement of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. Now I’m no specialist in symphonic music in general and Mahler in particular, but I’m conscious of its context and connotations. It’s a kind of resurrection for the composer linked to his renewed love for his wife, the remarkable Alma (20 years his junior), after he brushed with death due to an internal haemorrhage. This relates in a way to Michel’s obsessive memory of his wife is a key theme. (I’m basing this not on any familiarity with the biographies of Alma Mahler but on Ken Russell’s exuberant but not always accurate 1974 biopic of the composer). But this piece of music has effectively been colonialised (at least for film fans) by Visconti in his adaptation of Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice (1971) where the music is associated with death. I’m not sure exactly how Brisseau was using this music but as a cinephile as well as a cineaste he much have been aware that audiences would read it through the prism of Visconti’s film. Any ideas, Roy (or anyone)?