Mahler Parts Three and Four: Look back in Skiddaw

00:40, Powell looks more like Mahler than Mahler. Beautiful, cameo in deep pine green that becomes daylight on a moving train-just gorgeous. The crowds and their brass bands await Gustav at the station like a war hero but he's sick and can't be arsed. A flashback in the loo takes Mahler back to his years as a child; his large Jewish family having come up from working class to middle class in one generation; the kindly swim instructor slash mentor slash Joe accordion and the freakiest piano teacher since Dr. Terwilliker in the "5000 Fingers of Dr.T". Yet, Skiddaw, the great mountain of the Lake District steals this section. In my mind I know I'm looking at England yet how and why I can only see Eastern Europe/Germany/Austria is a mystery. Ken is a master and that is why he can create such cinematic alchemy.


Highlight: The supine swim scene and parental rage was ripped/paid homage to in "Immortal Beloved."