Title: Before the revolution /
Authors: Bertolucci, Bernardo; Asti, Adriana, 1933-; Scavarda, Aldo, 1923-; Morandini, Morando,; Barilli, Francesco,; Midgette, Allen,; Pariset, Cristina,; Iride Cinematographica.
Year: 1964
Subjects: Man-woman relationships.; Political socialization.; Political activists; Youth Italy
Abstract: Bertolucci was a poet before he became a filmmaker, his first film was heavily influenced by his mentor Paolo Pasolini. His second film "Before the Revolution" was loosely based on Stendhal's "The Charterhouse of Parma", the plot concerns a young man who flirts intellectually with communism, but eventually realizes that for him, life will always be "Before the Revolution." Set in Parma in the early 1960s, "Before the Revolution"which is also partly autobiographical, was made when Bertolucci was in his early twenties. Like the central character in this film Bertolucci's work has alternated between his attraction to European ideals of the left and his own high cultured, priveleged background. More recently, Bertolucci's films have abandoned political ideology in favor of straightforward eroticisim.