426. Prima della rivoluzione/Before the Revolution (1964)

Running Time: 115 minutes
Directed By: Bernardo Bertolucci
Written By: Gianni Amico, Bernardo Bertolucci
Main Cast: Adriana Asti, Francesco Barilli, Allen Midgette, Morando Morandini, Cristina Pariset
Click here to view the trailer

YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION

Well kiddies, today's the day. Sometime within the next seven hours - if everything goes as planned - I'll finish a journey that's taken me six years to  complete. It's hard to believe that it'll all be over, BUT, I don't want to distract from these last three film, so let's just do these three reviews and go from there. Read on...

To be totally honest, this won't be much of a review. THE BOOK states that the plot of Bertolucci's second feature, Before the Revolution is "simple". I, for one, didn't seem to know what was going on, which could have had something to do with the fact that I was very tired last night when I watched it. The whole film seems to center around the death of Agostino (Midgette), who dies within the first fifteen minutes of the film, by drowning and quite anti-climactically, I might add. He's the best friend of Fabrizio (Barilli) and the scene plays out not like, "Oh my GOD, he just died!", but instead like, "I guess that blonde kid who was onscreen a minute ago is dead now!?. It just sort of happens, it's not filmed and we only find out about it when Fabrizio shows up at a local watering hole and is told about what happened. Anyway, following the death, Fabrizio meets up with his estranged aunt Gina (Asti) at the funeral and the two begin an affair. I know, I know....EWW. But Adriana Asti is GORGEOUS, so it's a little hard to blame the guy. I mean that's really it. Sure, there's probably a whole bunch of political themes involved and inner conflict on the part of Fabrizio, as he has this affair with his aunt, but also has eyes for a girl his own age named Clelia. Plus there's the death of Agostino, which the characters are also coping with. The movie actually reminded me a lot of a Michelangelo Antonioni film, with characters walking around filled with self conflict. Perhaps my comparison is way off, but Antonioni DID come to mind.

Despite my misunderstanding of the plot and themes & ideas that seemed to fly over my head at high speeds, I didn't hate Before the Revolution. I realized early on that this wasn't going to be a film that I was going to enjoy for it's coherent storyline, so I decided to experiment a little and just watch it for other reasons: mainly score and cinematography. The score was done by Ennio Morricone, to much lesser effect than any of his other films. However, there were a couple of songs included by Gino Paoli and I loved them. They were immediately searched on YouTube and "liked" for future reference. There was also a jazzy little score about midway through, during a scene where Adriana Asti was scampering around the bedroom, barefoot and being very sexy and the music only served to highlight her presence. I have a feeling this brief piece wasn't done by Morricone, but I could be wrong. The cinematography, as has been the case in all Bertolucci films was phenomenal too. There was one scene where everything suddenly shifted to color and I found myself hoping it would go back to black & white, which it did. Needless to say, this film was shot in a beautiful black & white that only served to accentuate the loneliness and gloominess of the characters personalities. Like I said, I found myself not really GETTING the plot, but the for the first time, I was really able to appreciate a work for things other than story.

RATING: 4.5/10  Can't go too high or anything, because I'm always a guy who NEEDS good story, but I'll give it a notch below average for the aspects that I mentioned.

MOVIES WATCHED: 999
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 2

October 31, 2015  8:01pm

513. La Strategia del ragno/The Spider's Stratagem (1970)

Running Time: 100 minutes
Directed By: Bernardo Bertolucci
Written By: Bernardo Bertolucci, Eduardo de Gregorio, Marilu Parolini, from the story Theme of the Traitor and Hero by Jorge Luis Borges
Main Cast: Giulio Brogi, Alida Valli, Tino Scotti, Pippo Campanini, Giuseppe Bertolucci

OH WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE

Moving right along. It was only hours ago that I wrote my review for The Searchers and I immediately hit the bed and put on another movie. I think it's time to wrap this journey up and I'm willing and ready to put in some serious overtime to get the job done.

The Spider's Stratagem is the fourth film I've watched from Bernardo Bertolucci and begins with a young man, Athos Magnani (Brogi), returning to the hometown of his father, Tara, after many years. In fact, Magnani never met his father, as his mother was still pregnant at the time of his father's death. His father was also named Athos Magnani and was an anti-fascist, who rebelled against Mussolini and the regime of Fascism that swept over Italy in the early 1900s. For his rebellious behavior, Athos Magnani was murdered, while at the theater and thus became a hero - having statues built in his honor. In flashbacks, we learn that the elder Athos had three close friends who were also anti-fascists and prior to Athos' assassination, the foursome plotted to kill Mussolini. Coincidentally, the plot to kill Mussolini was the exact same as the way Athos was assassinated - in a theater, while watching Rigoletto. The young Athos, in present day, talks with the friends of his father, as well as his father's mistress, Draifa (Valli) and tries to get to the truth about his father's murder, narrowing it down to realize that it was a Tara local.

SPOILER ALERT!

Like I said, this was my fourth Bertolucci film and I'm not gonna' lie, I had to go back and look it up to make sure I'd watched three and to even refresh my memory as to what those three were. The three prior Bertolucci's were: 1900, The Conformist & Last Tango in Paris and honestly, all of those films had memorable qualities, with "Last Tango" being the best of the trio. Now having watched a fourth I can definitively say that I wouldn't be opposed to seeing more from Bernardo Bertolucci and in fact, there is still one more of his to do from THE BOOK - Before the Revolution. THE BOOK compares The Spider's Stratagem to the films of Alain Resnais and Michelangelo Antonioni, calling it very confusing, non-linear and even saying "it's nearly impossible to keep track of time and/or place, and viewers are left with an overall impression of uncertainty". Umm...I couldn't disagree more. Sure, I was baffled by the films of Antonioni and Resnais, having more questions with those two directors than answers. However, I felt like I understood The Spider's Stratagem completely, except for maybe one or two unanswered questions, yet the overall puzzle was clearly visible.

In case anyone reading this has any questions as to what was going on here, the following is my interpretation:

Athos Magnani, the younger, returns to the town of Tara where his father was murdered and after meeting with his father's former mistress, decides that he should set out to find out who killed his dad. She convinces him that the killer must be a local man from Tara and informs him that Athos' had three friends: Costa, Garibazzi and Rasori and only one known enemy, a landowner named Beccaccia. Of course, young Athos goes to talk to Beccaccia - is first kicked out by his henchman - but later, during a meeting Beccaccia tells him that although he'd love to take credit for Athos' murder, he didn't do it. It becomes apparent early on, at least to me, that there's a chance his three friends had SOMETHING to do with his assassination, but young Athos doesn't realize this right away. We learn in flashbacks that the original plan was for Athos and friends to kill Mussolini, with a bomb in the theater. However, Mussolini didn't show up to the theater on the night of the attack, so their plans fell through. Then LATER, we learn that the reason Mussolini didn't show up was because Athos tipped off the authorities and told them that if Mussolini did show up, he'd be killed. His three friends find out about this and are furious, of course. However, instead of murdering him for being a traitor, the foursome concoct one final plan: to murder him as a hero. The fact that Athos tipped off the authorities is covered up & Athos is murdered by his friends and everyone assumes he was murdered as retaliation for being an anti-fascist - thus making him a hero.

In fact, the only question that I didn't get answered was WHY did Athos tip off the authorities to the Mussolini plot? If his wish was to defame the fascists anyway by dying a hero, thus glorifying the rebellion, why not just go through with the plot to kill Mussolini and take the fascists down a further notch than his hero death would have? Otherwise, I feel like I understood everything. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm completely off base and what I've just stated above is 100% wrong, but I don't think so. Also, what was the deal with the little boy? Was it actually a little girl? or just a very effeminate male? Who knows. Bottom line: This wasn't bad at all. Like my review for The Searchers earlier, I wouldn't go so far as to call it great or anything, but BOOK doers don't dread this one. A perfectly enjoyable hour and change at the movies.

RATING: 6.5/10  I'm actually looking forward to Before the Revolution now and I'd say that I need to watch it sooner, rather than later, but I'm nearly done so everything will be watched sooner.

MOVIES WATCHED: 980
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 21

October 17, 2015  12:26pm

545. Ultimo tango a Parigi/Last Tango in Paris (1972)

Running Time: 129 minutes
Directed By: Bernardo Bertolucci
Written By: Bernardo Bertolucci, Franco Arcalli, Agnes Varda
Main Cast: Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Jean-Pierre Leaud, Maria Michi, Massimo Girotti
Click here to view the trailer

MORE THAN SEX

Hey, what do you know - two in one week! I must admit though, writing this review is going to be a lot tougher than the review I wrote for The Decalogue. Sure, the review for the latter was insanely long, but it was really just ten mini reviews connected together. This is one, full size, regular review for a feature length movie and the first one of those I've written in a couple months. So remember, if this sucks, be nice!

The film begins with a clearly distraught man walking the early morning streets of Paris, tears in his eyes, hair disheveled. The man is Paul (Brando), a middle aged, American living in Paris, who's wife has recently committed suicide. Ahead of him walks a young woman, a twenty-something looker, decked out in white coat and gaudy hat. She is Jeanne (Schneider) and the two walk the Parisian streets, separately, strangers for the time being. Eventually Jeanne happens upon an apartment building with a vacancy sign and being engaged and soon to be in the market for a new flat, she decides to check the place out. Upon entering the vacant, yet spacious apartment, she finds that Paul has beat her there, exchanging very few words, the two make animalistic love on the floor, before Jeanne collects herself and exits. Days later, when Jeanne returns to the scene of the "crime" to return the keys, which she accidentally took with her, she finds moving men bringing new furniture into the apartment, soon learning that Paul is renting the place. Paul convinces her to stick around, sharing with her the rules of their new love shack. Inside these walls the two will have no names. In fact, inside these walls, Paul and Jeanne will be completely oblivious to the world outside, forgetting their pasts and forgetting the present. Jeanne, an engaged woman, feels powerless in the presence of Paul, whom she can't resist. Now the two are leading double lives: Paul still the owner of a hotel that he co-owned with his wife, living with his mother-in-law (Michi), who is also in mourning and Jeanne, still engaged to aspiring filmmaker Thomas (Leaud), yet unable to control her lust for the American.

SPOILER ALERT!

I have to admit that I was really expecting a total smut fest here. It's just another example of not judging a book by it's cover and always giving a movie a chance to wow you before you judge it. I had heard almost nothing about Last Tango in Paris, except that it had been affixed an NC-17 rating (originally an X, until 1997) and that it was filled with sex. Okay, sure the film has a few sex scenes, but it's a shame that someone completely ignorant to the film (me) was given the impression that this was nothing but smut. This film is unjustly represented as nothing more than a two hour romp in the sack, never with any mention of it's breath taking cinematography, moving score, interesting characters and fantastic performances (especially Brando). In fact, let's tackle those fantastic performances right off the bat. Has Brando ever been better? Let's see: I didn't care for him particularly in On the Waterfront; his small role in Apocalypse Now was great but too short; One Eyed Jacks and Guys and Dolls were both just mediocre and while he is fantastic in The Godfather, I'd call his portrayal of a depressed American named Paul in Last Tango in Paris the best that Brando's ever been and the main reason we should all still be remembering Marlon still today. And did you know that this was only Maria Schneider's eighth film and that most of the previous seven films she'd done were simply bit parts in French movies that no one's probably heard of? I'd be willing to bet that this girl was ultra intimidated by Brando's chops, yet she somehow manages to hold her own and the two together produce the most memorable scenes from the movie. In fact, it's their scenes together that make this movie and made me dread the scenes she shared with Leaud or who I like to call the poster boy for the artsy French film. I would have been fine with this whole film taking place inside the walls of the apartment, but hey, I'm a fan of minimalist filmmaking.

Sure the Brando character is crass, but anyone who considers the film as a whole obscene needs to stop taking themselves so seriously. The characters here are deep: the Brando character clearly in pain and trying to figure out his life following the death of a wife he clearly loved very much, more importantly the suicide death, which puts him in even more of a state of confusion. And then there's Schneider's Jeanne, who is still young and also confused, still probably confused by the world around her, the lust she feels for this brash American, confused by her relationship status. Should she go with the filmmaker who worships her or the American who disregards her, who doesn't think much of her beyond her private parts. However, Paul and Jeanne (even though they know nothing of one another) do have a chemistry. Dig that scene where the two share their new names, grunting sounds into each other's faces while they sit naked, tangled together, just two human beings on a floor in the middle of Paris, sharing a moment.

I must say though, I wasn't very pleased with that ending. Having Paul go completely mad and chase Jeanne through the streets, only to have her shoot him in her real apartment didn't do much for me. Perhaps it was eluding to the fact that these two could only exist in this one place in the world and that any attempt to have them exist as a real couple, in the real world, would explode, resulting in their demise. I'd like to think that's the case and therefore, I guess it makes sense. Although, I just don't feel the Paul character should've been killed by the Jeanne character. I'd have much preferred Paul to kill himself, justifying it in his head as getting at Jeanne as his wife got at him. Did anyone else get the feeling that it was going to be revealed that Rose was actually murdered by Paul? Anyway, let me wrap this, as I feel like I'm rambling at this point. The film is a very good one, reaching that upper echelon of movies that I'd consider a candidate for the next TOP 20 list. It's filled with two or three handfuls of beautiful shots, not to mention characters that will probably make me want to watch this movie again and again, stripping them down, trying to decipher their motivations and "get" them. The score is a saxophonist's dream, sometimes playing against the flow of the film, but usually working in it's favor. The performances are great and as I said, I've never seen Brando better. The whole thing adds up to a fantastic film that makes me disappointed that it's only ever labeled as a sex romp, while it's actually a thought provoking, meaningful film that will make an audience member ponder previous relationships, as well as his ultimate fate...or something like that.

RATING: 7.5/10  REALLY, really close to an '8' but I couldn't get it there justly. This is one that I can definitely see myself watching over and over and loving more after every viewing. Definitely the best Bertolucci from THE BOOK thus far.

MOVIES WATCHED: 921
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 80

June 9, 2015  5:05pm

499. Il conformista/The Conformist (1969)

Running Time: 111 minutes
Directed By: Bernardo Bertolucci
Written By: Bernardo Bertolucci, from novel by Alberto Moravia
Main Cast: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Stefania Sandrelli, Dominique Sanda, Gastone Moschin, Enzo Tarascio
Click here to view the trailer

EYE POPPING!

Despite being one of the most disappointing seasons (groups of 100) yet, I will say this season has produced some of the most visually striking films I've ever seen. You've got the deuce from Terrence Malick - with Days of Heaven leaving me completely breathless at times, not to mention films like A Passage to India, The American Friend, The Night of the Hunter and Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. Add to that list The Conformist, which for all of it's shortcomings, looked like perfection.

To be honest, I'd have to look up a plot synopsis and read it in order to detail the plot for you here. I'm not saying that I didn't pay attention, actually quite the contrary, as I struggled to pay extra attention, knowing that this films talk of fascism and government operations in Italy's early 20th century could easily lose me. Add to the fact that THIS GUY is no history major, the film is also told in a very subtle, non linear format, making it hard to distinguish what is now and what is then. That being said, I'll try to paint you some sort of picture here. The film's main character is Marcello Clerici (Trintignant), a fascist and an assassin who is about to kill a former professor of his, Professor Quadri (Tarascio). During one timeline, we see Marcello being driven in a car by associate Manganiello (Moschin), as they pursue the car of the professor. In another of the film's flashback timelines we observe as Marcello prepares to marry Giulia (Sandrelli), a beautiful, yet dim witted brunette who makes him go to Catholic confession before tying the knot with him. The two's honeymoon serves as the excuse as to why they're visiting the town that the ex professor lives in. which happens to be Paris. Once in the home of Quadri, Marcello develops an attraction for his young wife Anna (Sanda - looking stunning). Meanwhile Anna plays hard to get, instead showing feelings for Giulia, who is hesitant at first, but later welcomes Anna's advances. The entire film not only explores political affiliation of the 1930s, but is also an exploration of human sexuality, as the film features many characters who are unsure of their own sexuality, perhaps mimicking Bertolucci's own ambiguity.

I don't really have a whole lot to say on the matter. I will say this, I was never going to love this movie and long time readers should have known that. I'm just not the guy you go to when you have a film about world history and events that shaped countries around the world. I realize you don't have to be a buff to GET this movie, but it helps if you have a general knowledge, something I don't really have. It's interesting because I was actually asked today if I was going to go vote and I answered, that no I wasn't and in fact I didn't even know who I was supposed to be voting for, be it governors, senators or what have you. If I don't even know what's going on in the world around me, how am I ever supposed to get my head around a film that touts fascism and Mussolini as it's main backdrop? Sure, the film has other appealing aspects, which I'll get into momentarily, but those things really held me back from enjoying this 100%.

Of course, if you've read anything about this movie then you've read that it's gorgeous and I'm here to back that up, 100%. I mean, at times, I don't even care that I'm not completely comprehending what's going on, as long as I'm being pitched these eye popping images. Also the score is pretty brilliant to, accompanying the images perfectly, making me even more angry that the plot isn't joining in to make this a trifecta of greatness. I wanted to like this movie so much, yet in the end, I can say I only thought it to be just better than average. I wanted this to be my redemption for basking in the guilty pleasures that were the Terminator movies and while this film blew those ones out of the water in the cinematography department, I'd have to go with T1 and T2 as the winners where enjoyability and strength in plot are concerned. I will, however, take the blame. It was my fault that I couldn't follow along plot wise and actually another go at it someday may warrant a more positive response from yours truly. As it is, I can still recommend this film on the merits of the camera work alone and tell you that even if you don't get EVERYTHING that's going on, you'll at least be treated to visually stunning images and a powerful score. Oh yeah, the acting is pretty top notch too, but I don't recall many foreign movies where the acting isn't up to snuff. They really have the jump on us when it comes to acting chops, that's for sure...and when I say "they" I mean pretty much every other country. Oh I'm sure they have their fair share of bad actors, I've just never seen them.

I don't mean to mislead either when I say there's no plot, because there is one and in fact, the whole sexual ambiguity of the characters is just as important as the political stuff. Don't ask me why, but I've always been sort of fascinated with the sexual comings and goings of characters in films, especially foreign films. Again, don't ask me why but the foreigners (I'm talking the mainly the French and the Italians) are sort of mired in this ambiance of romance, love and sexual perversion and to watch them intermingle, have affairs and try to sort out their troubles on the relationship front is always fascinating to watch. In doing a bit of research, it seems that Bertolucci himself was actually thought to be bisexual, as were many of his characters - not only here, but weren't there bi characters in "1900"? In closing, I'll say it again, a rewatch of this movie is probably just what the doctor ordered and hopefully someday I can revisit it.

RATING: 6.5/10  I really wanted to bump it into '7' territory just for the sights and the sounds alone, but I felt it undeserving of that caliber of rating.

MOVIES WATCHED: 868
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 133

November 5, 2014  1:09am

615. Novecento/1900 (1976)

Running Time: 320 minutes
Directed By: Bernardo Bertolucci
Written By: Franco Arcalli, Bernardo Bertolucci, Giuseppe Bertolucci
Main Cast: Robert De Niro, Gerard Depardieu, Dominique Sanda, Donald Sutherland, Alida Valli

LIKE THE ENERGIZER BUNNY - JUST KEEPS GOING AND GOING AND GOING

For some reason or another, I really thought I'd like "1900", which is why I scheduled it to be the 50th film I took in this season. Despite being directed by a director who's work I'd never seen (Bertolucci), there was still some sort of appeal there and hey, Ennio Morricone did the soundtrack, so there was always that to fall back on. Well, as pleasing as the Morricone score was, "1900" just didn't do it for me.

With a film that runs over five hours long, you'd think that it would require an extremely in-depth plot synopsis, filled with tons of details and summarizing a range of different characters. Well, I'll be damned if this one won't be easy as pie to sum up. Yes, the film is over five hours in length, but NOTHING happens! Okay, okay, some stuff happens, but there were long periods of time where I just wanted to gouge my eyes out, so I'd have an excuse to stop watching. The film really gets going with the birth of Alfredo Berlinghieri and Olmo Dalco, who are both born on the same day. Alfredo's grandfather (Burt Lancaster) is a landowner and the patriarch of an aristocratic family and Olmo's grandfather (Sterling Hayden) is his top worker, who comes from a family of hard working peasants. Despite their families' different social statuses, Alfredo and Olmo become childhood friends, catching frogs together and comparing their "manhood". They, as children tend to do, grow up and as they do, they grow apart. Olmo fights in World War I and Alfredo is protected by his father, so that he won't have to fight. As time goes by, the two become part of rival groups: Alfredo, one of the heads of the fascist party and Olmo, a leader for the socialists. Alfredo meets and marries a girl, Ada (Sanda) and Olmo must continue to fight for the rights of his people. Oh yeah, Donald Sutherland's in there too and he plays a bat shit crazy foreman to the padrone and the leader of a "black shirt" mafia, fighting for fascism.

Yep and that all takes five hours to unfold. THE BOOK notes that the film assumes a basic knowledge of Italian history before entering into it and that's something that I didn't have. Whether or not that barred me from enjoying it more is unknown to me. All I do know is that I really checked out of this one at about the halfway mark. I was still watching and paying attention, but my mind was pretty much already made up and from there on out, I was just going through the motions. The cast was okay, but I was watching a dubbed in English version, which may have taken away from some of the "oomph" of the acting talents on display. THE BOOK even notes that the "belabored message will force the viewer to seek pleasure elsewhere", noting that the performances of De Niro and Depardieu is the place to seek that pleasure. I don't know about all that, because the real star of the show for me was Donald Sutherland. What a freaking psychotic this guy portrays - killing cats and children and in BRUTAL fashion.

I will say this in defense of the film: It look magnificent, even rivaling "The Travelling Players" as best looking movie I've seen all season. There are dozens upon dozens of shots that will leave your eyes begging for more (which is why I DIDN'T gouge my eyes out ;). Other than that, I really have nothing positive to add to this review. The film was exploring a part of history that I was oblivious to and the film didn't really teach me much either. I really wanted to like it. The Morricone score was pretty good, but nowhere near as good as his Leone scores or even that of "Cinema Paradiso". The film just drags on for so long, that by the time it's over you're just glad it's over. There are literally hours of film time where you look back in retrospect and realize that they've just used up an hour and barely advanced the story. In a perfect world, my recommendation would be to just watch this movie on mute and allow your eyes to feast on the visual treats. However, I know there are other list hounds out there, just like me, who will want to watch this movie and all I can say is good luck and I hope you do better with it than I did. As for me, this was ONE OF the hardest things THE BOOK has put me through.

RATING: 4/10  I can't go lower than a '4' because like I said, the film is a visual masterpiece and it sounds really good too, thanks to Morricone. Everything else, however, just fell through the strainer.

MOVIES WATCHED: 651
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 350

April 6, 2013  9:44pm