Also misleadingly translated is "Sonate vom guten Menschen," the name of a piece of music which plays a central part in the plot and reappears as the name of the novel the writer publishes at the end; it could also have been the name of the film. It should be "Sonata of the good person," not, as I recall its being rendered, "Sonata for a good person."Don't let these mistranslations put you off seeing it, though if you've seen it already perhaps this can be an excuse for you to go see it again! See it as a sonata, see it as disclosing two worlds by showing the ways they subvert and inspire each other. The film is fantastic, and worth seeing for the acting, for the script, for the cinematography, for the music. And (if you're into that sort of thing) because it's about goodness.
The "Sonate vom guten Menschen" was, I've learned, composed by multi-multi award winner Gabriel Yared. Sebastian Koch, the actor who plays the good writer, says he only found his way into his character through playing this piece on the piano - a piece of which his character says: how could anyone hear this music and not become a good man?
