Bernardo Bertolucci, 1962 - the criterion collection -
8.0
for his first film, Bernardo Bertolucci works from a Rashomon-like story by mentor Pier Palo Pasolini about a murdered prostitute. the film has a graceful, lyrical quality to it thanks to Bertolucci's wandering camera (and the beautiful black and white transfer does it justice). the film starts with the discovery of the body and goes into the interrogations of the usual suspects. each suspect unravels his own immaculate tale of the fateful hours leading up to the murder. the first two suspects' tales are wonderful to watch, Bertolucci infuses them with such splendid shots that it gives the whole film a sort of poetic beauty. but it gets redundant by the third and fourth suspects. that's where i started asking myself, 'why am i caring about this?' i found that i was not, that i had lost interest. but the film is shot with so much confidence for such an extremely young (21 years-old) first-time director that i can't deny its inherent beauty. Bernardo Bertolucci wanted to make films and he did them as an artist and a true poet. taking a look at this one (only his debut, for christ's sake!), there's no denying the nature of the man's talent, or intentions, as a filmmaker. it's effortless. and that, for me, is always reason enough to sit down for.
Posted by Anonymous | 9:22 AM
