Saturday, June 04, 2011

#132: Last Tango in Paris



Director: Bernardo Bertolucci

Actors: Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider

Story: Brando's wife commits suicide which throws his life upside down. One day, walking through the streets he comes across a young woman in an apartment she was hoping to rent. Without warning, he starts having sex with her.

Then: He meets with her again and has sex with her again.

Then: He keeps doing it as an outlet for his frustration of losing his wife. They make a connection, more her than he and one day suddenly they breakup.

Does it work? : If you take away the sex-served-on-toast-for-stranger part, Brando impresses you with his strong portrayal of a husband in shock and longing for his wife.

What else?: It's one of those movies, you might have to take a punt on- works for some, doesn't work for some.

Why should you watch?: To know what happened when the man who made The Last Emperor worked with The Godfather

What do I lose if I don't watch it: The answer to the question above. Nothing else.

Rating: 6.3/10

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does anyone really lose/gain anything by reading/not reading, viewing/not viewing iconic art works? It is more of a question to oneself and the answer I guess too should come from oneself. I just wanted to share the doubt...

IssacMJ said...

@Anon: Let's say you're an ardent movie fan and you realize you haven't seen any Ray or Chaplin. Would you not regret it ? I would.

And yes it is a personal choice, which is why although I think you can lose this opportunity by missing out to see this combination work and someone else might disagree. :-)

Anonymous said...

Well, till an ardent fan has not seen anything of Ray and Chaplin, how is he/she going to know whether she/he has missed anything? And post-watching, how can there be any regret, won't the exhilaration of 'discovery' be too great to wash away all other considerations?

And my doubt was a generic one; not really aimed at this movie specifically.I shall once again repeat it; 'Does anyone really lose/gain anything by reading/not reading, viewing/not viewing iconic art works?'

IssacMJ said...

I can always know of a filmmaker and not be able to see any of them, right? I haven't seen any Tarkovsky for instance. And from what I have heard or read about him I will regret it indeed if I don't manage to get a copy from somewhere. And post-watching there could always be a regret as well if the movie doesn't engage me.

On the gaining/losing bit I think it would be my loss if I miss out on viewing/ reading something that's considered iconic in a domain, should I have an interest in that domain.

What's your take ? Am curioser now. :-)

Anonymous said...

I don't want this to appear like a tennis match, so let me begin by saying this is my opinion, and it can always be wrong for everybody else apart from me:-)

Well, not all masterpieces work at the same level for everybody and that is how it should be, to say nothing of the fact that some may not like a particular thing at a particular time, later becoming fond of the same thing and vice-versa. I meant a true-blue fan (after he realizes that his interest is endemic) would sooner or later develop his own system of appreciation. Of course, everybody starts with references, but a time comes when one realizes that even a highly credited work may not work for one ( nobody to be blamed, neither the work, the reference source nor the person) - it is just how it is and starts living with it.
I don't know if I have explained myself well or not, but mine was just a doubt which I shared:-)