Movies
One of Bertolucci's earliest films. I must say it's quite impressive to see a film like this made by someone who was only 22 at the time. Bertolucci leaves the Italian neorealism behind (a happy surprise), instead Before the Revolution seems to be taking notes from the French New Wave, a movement much closer to my liking. When I think classic Italian cinema, I think films that are quite loud, nervous and chaotic. There's almost none of that here. The cinematography is very stylish, the soundtrack is surprisingly beautiful and the performances are relatively subdued, what makes for a pleasant, moody atmosphere. I will say that the first half is noticeable better than the second one. It gets more overtly political near the end, which is where the film lost some of its appeal for me. By then I was already more than content to have seen a rather calm, breezy and stylish film with a handful of memorable moments. That's more than I expected going in.Read all
Leave it to the Italians to make an English-language film about the last Chinese emperor. I'm not sure what Bertolucci was thinking, but it puts a serious damper on the fun. Worse than that still is the looming shadow of Yimou Zhang that hangs above this film. It's difficult to enjoy its visual beauty when it doesn't really compare to what Zhang might've done with it. This feels like a Hollywood production in almost every way. It's an epic tale for sure, but the not-quite-there cinematography, the ill-fitting soundtrack and the English language all increase the disconnect with what is supposed to be a film about China. It's certainly not all bad, but not at all what it should've been.Read all
Ten Minutes Older: The Cello
I didn't know much about Last Tango in Paris going in, which is probably the best way to tackle a film like this. It's not one of Bertolucci's most famous films, but certainly one of his most revered ones. I assume the impact on release played a big part in that, by modern standards it's a bit tame I'm afraid. A middle-aged man whose wife just killed herself and a young girl ready to start her life hook up with each other. Both aren't looking for a romantic relationship, instead they need each other to escape from reality. It's a decent setup, but there isn't much more to it than that. Bertolucci simply explores the relationship between these two. Schneider and Brando aren't really fit for their parts. Schneider feels ill at easy, Brando's emotional outbursts are borderline embarrassing. That immediately kills the film, as a lot hinges on the appeal and/or intrigue of their characters, which never materializes. The cinematography and score aren't that interesting either and the pacing is slow, but at least the Parisian atmosphere gave the film a little flair.Read all
Venice 70: Future Reloaded
I'm a big fan of anthologies, and this project sounded very promising on paper. Seventy renowned directors give their vision on the future of cinema. With just one minute per short, there isn't much time to make a point, but it's disheartening to see how few of them even managed to stick to the topic. The saddest part was that many of the short didn't even deal with the future, but openly referred to or praised the medium's past. There's also a lot of doom and gloom, with some very basic visions of people not caring enough about arthouse cinema, or playing movies on their phones. Your typical old-man-yelling-at-cloud stuff. There is only a small selection of directors who seem to have understood the brief, and they struggle to make the most of their limited runtime. What remains is a complete mess, with most shorts looking like they were made on people's afternoon off, and hardly anything that stands out. A disappointment.Read all
