Mozartballs documents the peculiar lives of people completely obsessed with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  Many of director Larry Weinstein's subjects feel a kinship or spiritual connection with the late classical composer. This film, written by Thomas Wallner, emerges as a hilarious and educational look at how Mozart is still a popular icon 200 years after his death

On Christmas Eve 1984, Steph Waller awoke after having blacked out sitting at her piano. She kept hearing classical music, clearly meant to be performed by an orchestra, playing over and over in her head. Although a composer of pop music, Waller could not understand how 10 pages worth of classical score could be scrawled out perfectly when her hands and brain were not trained in the discipline.

Waller is covinced, however, that the perfectly written score is piece from Mozart even though it somehow came from her own hands. Furthermore, she thinks Mozart has taken over her body, and she feels there's work left to do. A friend's inspection of the score written out in Waller's hand confirmed it was from the film Amadeus

Lynette Erwin is Steph’s partner. At the age of three, her mother played a recording of a Mozart composition. Erwin says she told her mother that she must find that man. Her mother said “Do you mean Mozart?” Lynette did mean Mozart  -- and had since then had been on a search to find him. Lynette was married to a Southern Baptist Minister when she found Mozart (a.k.a Steph Waller) through her online site.

David Cope hails from Santa Cruz, California. When he was younger, Cope scaled a large tower despite a fear of heights. Although David was able to climb up the tower just fine, he was frightened he would fall from it on the way down. But when he heard vibration and music, he hoped to survive and come down the tower merely to be able to plagiarize the great sounds he heard. Cope is a composer, educator and computer programmer. He's spent over 10,000 hours at his computer, having created a software program called Experiments in Musical Intelligence, or Emmy for short. Cope's program is designed to take from a database of classical composers -- including Mozart -- and in seconds create its own compositions in the same vein. The machine’s latest piece is entitled "A Rondo for Cello and Orchestra." Steven Isserlis, a famous British cellist, has agreed to perform it.

Franz Viehbock, a pianist and scientist, made history as the only Austrian to be hurtled into space. He joined Soviet cosmonauts in 1991 for a mission to the Mir Space Station.  Because his daughter would be born while he was in outer space, Viehbock brought his fellow astronauts gifts that included the complete score of Mozart’s “Magic Flute” along with a package of Mozartkugeln (or Mozartballs) from the Mirabell chocolate makers.

Konrad Rich retired from teaching 13 years ago. The Swiss educator and self-described “Mozart lunatic” believes the world would be better off with more nutcases. Rich played Mozart in his class each day for 35 years (1956-1991) which are anniversaries for Mozart’s death and birth. Rich suffers from chronic depression and frequently would leave for Vienna, telling his wife he would never return and planning to kill himself there. Rich found himself at Mozart’s gravesite and swears to have heard his voice. He has returned to that gravesite fifty times. Mozart is one of few things to provide Rich with inner peace.

Julius Muller is in charge of the St. Marx Cemetery in Vienna. Mozart was buried in this cemetery when he died in 1791. Muller has made it his duty to collect, record and keep all the letters and cards that end up at Mozart’s grave. Each year on the anniversary of Mozart’s death, he reads one. Waller is here in Vienna for, among other things, to see “her” gravesite -- and Muller reads her a card left there.

Finally, we meet Nikola and Galina Mauracher, owners of a legendary hotel in Vienna called the Pension Mozart. It has the distinction of being in business for over 200 years. Among the visitors to this hotel? Mozart and Beethoven, of course.

Mozartballs, an exquisitely rendered documentary, delightfully explores what fuels the Mozart obsession. It was the opening selection for the Canadian Spectrum series at Hot Docs: Canadian International Documentary Festival. For more information, go to www.mozartballs.net. 

(Released by Rhombus International; not rated by MPAA. The DVD will be released this summer.)

Review also posted on www.movie-critiques.com .