Nach der Musik (A Father's Music) (2006)

Igor Heitzmann, Renate Heitzmann, Staatskapelle Berlin, Marita Suitner, Otmar Suitner

A bigamist father who spent years jetting back-and-forth between two families on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain (thus periodically estranging each wife and set of children) may sound like the foun... read more dational material for a politically-tinged network movie, but Otmar Suitner's life in fact bore far greater moral complexity and dimension than it reflected to outsiders. Born in Austria as a musical prodigy, Suitner established a formidable career as a maestro with the East Berlin State Opera and exhibited a core decency and stoicism that transcended his ethically shaky decision to suspend himself between two families before the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Realizing this, Otmar's son, Igor Heitzmann, assumed production of the documentary A Father's Music as a journey of personal discovery, to arrive at a more thorough understanding of his father's motivations and decisions with carefully reserved judgment. The film finds Igor achieving this goal by talking candidly and intimately with Otmar and each of his wives (who both profess love and fidelity to him, despite his bigamy). Most importantly, however, it also witnesses the son effectively convincing his father, who loves music more than life itself, to pick up the reins of a long-abandoned career and begin conducting once more. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi