Post by london777 on Jun 9, 2017 20:06:44 GMT
I was very disappointed. But then I had very high expectations. If you are interested because of the politics, there is no serious discussion of political theory or issues whatever. The communists are automatically communists because they are downtrodden workers and the fascist is a fascist because he is a bully and opportunist with a chip on his shoulder. No-one goes into it any deeper than that. Bertolucci is a communist, but his sympathies seem purely instinctive or sentimental here. No Marxist theory is in evidence.
My three main criticisms are:
1) The central character, De Niro, is cast as an apathetic or disinterested observer. That is a hard role to pull off and inspire interest in the viewer and he does not manage it. The central character of another Bertolucci film, The Conformist, is somewhat similar, but in that case that is the main point of the movie, not something which slows the narrative flow as here.
2) I find the character played by Dominique Sanda unbelievably affected and irritating. I wanted my friend Aki Kaurismäki to wander onto the set and give her a smack in the mouth, especially during the embarrassing "blind" scene.
3) Donald Sutherland is a bit of a cartoon character. Miscast, I think.
Everyone should give it the respect of seeing it at least once, though, and making up their own minds. It is certainly ambitious. I did not find the dubbing offensive.
My three main criticisms are:
1) The central character, De Niro, is cast as an apathetic or disinterested observer. That is a hard role to pull off and inspire interest in the viewer and he does not manage it. The central character of another Bertolucci film, The Conformist, is somewhat similar, but in that case that is the main point of the movie, not something which slows the narrative flow as here.
2) I find the character played by Dominique Sanda unbelievably affected and irritating. I wanted my friend Aki Kaurismäki to wander onto the set and give her a smack in the mouth, especially during the embarrassing "blind" scene.
3) Donald Sutherland is a bit of a cartoon character. Miscast, I think.
Everyone should give it the respect of seeing it at least once, though, and making up their own minds. It is certainly ambitious. I did not find the dubbing offensive.