Product: Last Tango in Paris (1973)
Rating: 5.0
Not a sex film
People who are going to buy this film for erotic content are going to be disappointed. Brando and Schneider are going at each other like two wounded animals passing the time and yelling their hurt at one another. It is mostly Paul who takes the active part, but Jeanne is taking the reality of his lashings as a welcome return to bleak reality from the artificiality of her own personal life and in particular her fiance.When others complain that outside of the scenes circling Brando the story gets thin, I think they miss the intention of the film. It is this stark naked reality of Brando which drives Jeanne into Paul's arms again and again.And which culminates in the climax when Paul falls back from essential cruelty, domination and _life_ into superficiality like everything else.I can't fathom why you'd be wanting to watch this with a romantic interest over a bottle of champagne as somebody else suggested.The film is deeply unsettling unless you are bereft of any sensibility, and then you probably would not want to let your romantic interest to know.I don't think that there is any film into which Brando invested more personal energy and life force than this one.