Of course, you can only make a beautiful and heart-rending film on a romantic character like this. His operas are perhaps the most romantic ever written, at least musically, and his life was not very different from them. Like in "La Bohème", he had a hard time breaking out of the vicious circles of poverty and adversity but somehow stuck to his first love throughout his life. She is played by Märta Torén, one of the most promising Swedish film stars ever, whose career was abruptly ended at 30 after 10 years of only memorable films against Humphrey Bogart, Dana Andrews, Claude Rains, James Mason and here Gabriele Ferzetti, who makes a very credible portrait of the composer with all his lacks of character, he was not as bad as Wagner but almost, but some reviewers are right in pointing out that this is Märta Torén's film. She plays Elvira with great empathy, she waits at home for the incorrigible Puccini who never turns up, he betrays her with another love on stage, a primadonna who sings his tragediennes, and another girl out in the country is driven to despair by the presence of Puccini's personality and his ways. It is all very well done, there are some very memorable scenes, especially the long one in the middle of the film concerning the opening night of "La Bohème" when Puccini is torn between the lady on stage and the mother of his child in the audience - it couldn't be easy for a man to be capable of so much charm and beautiful music. Of course he must get problems and give others problems. But his music remains eternally all right and will be sung as long as there will be opera performances - his love would not have created havoc if it was not overwhelming in heartfelt sincerity.
