Cast Jean-Louis Trintignant
Stefania Sandrelli
Gastone Moschin
Dominique Sanda
Screenwriter
Bernardo Bertolucci
Director
Bernardo Bertolucci
Running Time
113 minutes
Set in Rome in the 1930s, this re-release of Bernardo Bertolucci's 1970 breakthrough feature stars Jean-Louis Trintignant as a Mussolini operative sent to Paris to locate and eliminate an old professor who fled Italy when the fascists came to power.
This I guess is where my review blog falls down because I didn't like this. It looks great, Vittorio Storaro's cinematography is striking and beautiful but I really didn't think it was any good and the problem is that it's an acclaimed masterpiece. If someone criticises a great work of art it doesn't damage the artworks reputation but that of the critic. I'm not going to give this a score because clearly I misunderstood it entirely. It has a very slight story, the main character being driven to the assassination of his former professor reflects back on his life including joining the fascists, meeting his wife, being attacked as a child through to meeting the professor and his wife in Paris. It's just very drawn out, long, ponderous, dull. It looks great I say again but I just didn't like it which is a problem on my part I guess.
