Seriously though, this film is not merely about whether the plot seems ridiculous or whether Maximilliam Schell and Anton Diffring made careers out of playing Nazi 'creeps' The story here is simple and that is that even in time of war and all its attendant horrors, people can still preserve a little of humanity through the appreciation of what lives on eternally. Music. Music such as the pieces highlighted in this movie, the talent of the musicians and the conductor can win over even the most heartless and potentially cruelest of individuals which many Nazi's arguably were at the time. Perhaps above all else 'Counterpoint' is really about how individuals are indeed malleable and can be made to see reason through all the madness. Maybe in this regard it proves that ideology and a belief system can be overidden by emotions and a love for something as beautiful as great music. As an interesting aside it should interest viewers of this film to think of the niece of the great composer Gustav Mahler, Alma Rose who as a Jew was sent to Auschwitz where she eventually died. Gifted violinist that she was even Joseph Mengele was rumoured to have paid her solemn respect after she had died. He was even rumoured to have tried to save her life before it was too late, so perhaps the morale of the story in this 1968 film is indeed relevant to real events of the past.
Review of Counterpoint
