I`ve
been writing my honours thesis in University about the erotic
writing of Anais Nin and Aphra Behn, and it is quite interesting
that many of the so-called groundbreaking works throughout
history are usually called so because of their willingness
to express graphic sexuality. Henry Miller is another example,
an author whose claim to fame is that he wrote Tropic of Cancer,
a book which is about as boring and peppered with mediocre,
unrefined language as a "classic" novel could ever get. In
the movies, many infamous films are those with strong sexual
content. Zalman King`s 9 ½ Weeks, the French film Romance,
and, if you want to stretch it a bit, even American Pie and
There`s Something About Mary all share their infamy due almost
solely to their sexual daring. One of the early explicit films
was Bernardo Bertelucci`s Last Tango In Paris, a film which
is not terrible, but perhaps isn`t really such a "classic"
after all.
Marlon
Brando is a man living in France (I should mention here something
which few do, that much of this film is actually in French
with sub-titles), whose wife recently committed suicide. He
wanders around the city, forlorn, half-mad, and suddenly,
one day, follows a young French girl (Maria Schnieder) to
an apartment she is about to move into. The begining of the
movie is quite contrived, as Brando somehow is able to make
a surprise appearance in her apartment, hang around all depressed
and such, and then suddenly press her against the wall and
have sex with her. After this begins a strange affair, certainly
not a mutually pleasurable one, in which Brando insists that
no names be revealed (I guess so he can`t identify his pain,
if it ever occurs again), and which occurs only in the apartment.
There
are some good things about this movie, namely Brando. Even
though this movie was probably pretty risky for a man of his
stature to take, he still gives it his all. His character,
when you really think about it, is no different from that
of other warmed-over pieces of macho erotica, the sort who
expects a woman to submit to his demands, who is utterly depraved,
who uses nasty language to refer to female genitalia, etc.
The character could easily fit in a Zalman King production.
Yet Brando`s style of acting is wonderful even here, as he
seemingly improvises often, and is able to express emotion
and reality to his scenes. He can act casual and relaxed,
act silly, or, in a scene which, as written, is typically
crass and misoyginist, express a hotbed of emotions. That
scene is when he speaks to his dead wife, and he insults her
with all sorts of names and references, yet even though these
are the rantings of a macho, narrow man, Brando makes us believe.
I may still think Brando`s character is a pig, but he plays
it with utter conviction.
Maria
Schnieder is also good, actually. She project a boldness,
which you would have to in order to act in a movie like this.
She has a couple of good moments, like the moment when she
blows up in front of her film geek fiancè, played by Jean-Pierre
Leaud (The 400 Blows), and tells him that her mind feels raped
by his constant filming of their lives and interactions. She
also is able to be more than a pretty face with Brando, including
a scene, which would have been cute had it been in a more
gentler film, where they, wrapped around each other, try to
climax without touching, and tell each other their "names".
She is able to keep up with Brando in this sexual atmosphere.
Bertulucci, however, seems to see Schnieder more as a sexual
object. It is Brando who does most of the talking, and while
he walks around fully dressed, Schnieder often walks around
in a completly opposite state. While I give full points to
Schnieder`s body, I still see the genre at work here. It is
also crazy that she would even accept this in her life as
an alternative to a near-marriage to the film geek; wouldn`t
this be another form of rape? You`d think that she would be
a little more concerned about her dignity, but, of course,
like in 9 ½ Weeks, we are supposed to buy the idea that a
sado-masochistic relationship is the real deal, while all
those boring relationships with film geeks and unrealized
affairs with nice guys aren`t.
This
is really not a graphic movie as we would call it. The rating
was X back in 1972, yet there is not much nudity, no tight
closeups of anything, and we don`t get the feel of a rampant
sex romp. There are two quite depraved scenes (including the
infamous butter scene), but it is the implication more than
the display which is profane. I wouldn`t even call this an
erotic movie, because the feeling is so dark and distasteful
toward sex and companionship that it wouldn`t make anyone
aroused. This is an historical piece which should be viewed
for that reason, but is really only little more than a artsy
male-centered porn story, with Brando and Schnieder elevated
it up a notch.
David
Macdonald
David
Macdonald's Movie Reviews
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