Product: Last Tango in Paris (1973)
Rating: 5.0
A beautiful cinematic experience without flaw
The reputation of Bernardo Bertolucci's LAST TANGO IN PARIS precedes it. Film critic Pauline Kael famously proclaimed it to be "the most powerfully erotic movie ever made", while the NC-17 rating and a few sour reviews led some to believe that the film was nothing more than high-class pornography. This is one of the greatest tragedies in film history, because, you see, LAST TANGO IN PARIS is one of the very finest films ever made.True, the film does have four or five scenes of sexuality, some of it a little intense, but nowadays it seems rather tame. The NC-17 rating is silly. Were the film released today, I believe it would grab an R. My point is that, contrary to what reviewers, the MPAA, and even the plotline may tell you, this film is not about sex.Marlon Brando plays a 45-year-old American living in Paris. His wife recently committed suicide. At the start of the film, Brando goes for a walk through Paris to escape from the confines of his blood-splattered apartment. He happens to be walking the same path as Jeanne (Maria Schneider), a young Parisian dating a filmmaker. The two unknowingly follow each other, as though commanded by fate, to an apartment building, where an apartment has recently been put up for sale. Jeanne, overjoyed, looks the apartment over - only to find Brando sitting in the corner silently. Their brief encounter ends with the strangers having passionate sex against the wall, beginning a relationship that will have an extraodinary effect on each of their lives. The two strangers decide that they will meet regularly at the apartment, but that their relationship will be based strictly on sex. Brando emphasizes that there will be no names mentioned in their time together; the outside world will simply cease to exist.Brando's character, it turns out, is named Paul. Paul resembles a somewhat kinder Stanley Kowalski from A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. Whether due to his wife's suicide or simply his nature, Paul acts a little eccentricly. He is usually in a good and playful mood around Jeanne, even when - especially when - Jeanne is not. He always manages to cheer her up. However, outside of their apartment, Paul is often angry, clearly on the edge, torn apart inside by his wife's death. I do not exaggerate when I say that no one but Marlon Brando could play this character. Brando puts equal emphasis on both sides of the character, and in typical Brando fashion he BECOMES the character. I would say that, without a doubt, this is one of the very finest - if not THE finest performance - of Brando's entire career.Schneider deserves a lot of credit as well. She does a marvelous job of bringing out the confusion and youthful innocence in the character of Jeanne. Ultimately, we sympathize as much with her - perhaps more so - than we do with Brando's character. Schneider also has some wonderful on-screen chemistry with Brando.Remember when I said that LAST TANGO IN PARIS is not about sex? Well, what it is really about is life and relationships. Through her sexual encounters with Paul, Jeanne becomes closer to him than she does to her own fiance. Paul learns many surprising facts about his wife after her suicide. In what is possibly the film's most moving scene, Paul talks to his wife's body. "Even if a husband lives 200 f-----g years, he'll never discover his wife's true nature," he says. "I may be able to understand the secrets of the universe, but ... I'll never understand the truth about you."I feel that Bernardo Bertolucci, who directed and co-wrote the film with Franco Arcalli, has not received the credit that he deserves. His directing, in particular, is extraodinary. He gets the greatest performances possible from his cast. He knows the perfect angles to shoot the scenes at, which results in some wonderful cinematography from Vittorio Storaro. There are times when LAST TANGO IN PARIS seems like a very cold film, but through every moment it is bursting with life and vitality.Much of the film's vigor comes from Gato Barbieri's magnificent music. It's an utterly beautiful score led by dazzling saxophone solos performed by Barbieri himself. It is entirely without flaw. Barbieri's score is undoubtedly one of the greatest in movie history.My purpose in this review has been to convince you that LAST TANGO IN PARIS is not what it seems. It is such a great pity that the film has become only a minor classic, its reputation made foul by the controversy which emerged after the film's release in 1972. The truth is that LAST TANGO IN PARIS is the reason cinema was invented. It is true art, and in my humble opinion one of the very finest films ever made. Viewing it is a profoundly emotional experience. All I can say to you is to ignore everything you've heard about the film, and to simply watch it. From the opening to the shocking conclusion, LAST TANGO IN PARIS is a true cinematic masterpiece.