In the opening scene of this fascinating biodrama, the attractive and independent Alma (Sarah Wynter) attends an artistic showing unescorted by a man — something unheard of in turn-of-the-century Viennese society. She is a friend of painter Gustav Klimt, who has done several portraits of her. Alma's main interest is music; she's a gifted pianist and aspiring composer.
In 1902 she marries Gustav Mahler (Jonathan Pryce), a composer and the director of the Vienna Symphony, who is also much older than she is. He demands that she give up composing and devote herself to him. Alma raises their two children and handles the family finances but stews in resentment. Feeling neglected, she visits a spa where she meets the architect Walter Gropius (Simon Verhoeven), who falls in love with her. But Alma turns him away and stays with Mahler, who dies in 1911. She then has a torrid affair with Oskar Kokoschka (Vincent Perez), who paints her many times.
Bruce Beresford directs this drama written by Marilyn Levy. It vividly conveys the torment of a woman whose musical talent is squelched. "Creativity," according to Marion Woodman, " is the virgin soul opening to spirit. You cannot live without it." In 1915, Alma weds Gropius but they are divorced after World War I. During her marriage to the Franz Werfel (Gregor Seberg), a writer, Alma finally gets the chance she has been waiting for her entire life. Her music is performed before an audience in 1919.
Recognizing, nourishing, and expressing our creativity is one of the most important ways to care for our souls. Bride of the Wind reveals the terrible anguish that can ensue when the artist within is not given its due.