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Rent Mahler (1974)

Director Ken Russell's 'Mahler' is a dazzling depiction of Gustav Mahler's tormented life. The blend of history and psychological analysis produces a fascinating study of art and sensuality. The film takes place on a single train ride, in which the sickly, aged composer Gustav Mahler (Robert Powell) and his wife, Alma (Georgina Hale), confront the reasons behind their faltered marriage and dying love. Flashbacks and sequences chronicle his turbulent and dysfunctional family life as a child, his discovery of solace in the 'natural' world, his brother's suicide, his conversion from Judaism to Catholicism, his rocky marriage and the death of his young children. Revel in Mahler's stirring music, the exquisite cinematography and lavish sets.