BESIEGED
Besieged - Bothered - and - Bewildered! That’s how I felt after seeing writer/director Bernardo Bertolucci’s latest inconsequential effort, "Besieged." I was besieged by the minimalist plot that made its point early on. Once I got it, that was it. I was bothered by the fact that Bernardo will get away with it, merely because Bernardo Bertolucci is a confirmed master of the cinema with timeless classics like "The Conformist," and "The Last Emperor" to his credit. I was bewildered by the failure of the superb craftsmanship of its individual parts to ignite the slightest spark of interest in the two central characters.
At first I was intrigued by the beginning of "Besieged" with its bigger than life posters of a dictator splashed across every available wall space in an otherwise non-desript African village accompanied by the mysterious vocalizing of a local sage. Bertolucci firmly plants his audience in a foreign land where anything can happen. A woman, Shandurai (Thandie Newton), witnesses the abduction of her husband, a school teacher, from his rural classroom by soldiers. Suddenly without warning or a shred of explanation, she is ensconced in the house of a reclusive pianist, Mr Kinsky (David Thewlis), somewhere in Italy, working as a domestic to earn her keep while she pursues her medical studies. Her benefactor starts to besiege (get it?) her with little tokens of affection. Later he passionately declares his love like a lovesick pup. She blurts out that if he really loved her, he would help free her husband. Of course, Kinsky didn’t know she was married so
he retreats like a wounded animal. Small objects begin to disappear from his house, then larger more valuable things, like paintings and tapestries. The only rationale for departing with these earthly possessions is that, since he inherited them, he has no emotional attachment to them. It’s obvious he’s selling them off to finance her husband’s freedom. The movie just goes on with more of the same.
Enjoying the best parts of "Besieged" is a lot like licking the icing off a cake you otherwise wouldn’t touch. Kinsky discovers the Third World musical vibes of Africa through a Black minister who befriends him in his quest. The movie is rich in atmosphere with some visually striking scenes that capture the grit of the Third World and the soft morning light that sparks Kinsky’s creativity. Yet, for the most part, the cinematography, rather than enhancing the story, draws attention to itself. Thandie Newton’s and David Thewlis’s performances are amazingly laid back compared to their respective roles in pictures like "Gridlock’d" and "Naked." On another level, ideas that appear to be snatched from several other filmmakers’ movies are at stylistic odds with each another. A kid’s party has the look and feel of Francois Truffaut’s "Loose Change," while much of "Besieged" plays like an upbeat version of an Antonioni movie. Mood, feeling, relationships, and action are dictated by the composition of the frame in his movies. With "Besieged," Bertolucci relies more on props to trace the progress of Kinsky’s quest. Antonioni’s movies have been called pure cinema because they relied more on images than dialogue, and in many instances they were more concerned with psychological states of mind than a linear plot. He is, if anything, an acquired taste. I would have to say the same about Bertolucci if "Besieged" were one of his first films, but the movie stands out as an aberration compared to his other pictures. He used all the cinematic tools at his disposal from dialogue, color schemes, music, and formal composition without sacrificing the linear structure of their stories. Once again, "The Conformist" and "The Last Emperor" come immediately to mind.
I am further bewildered by the ending of "Besieged." Bertolucci betrays the audience by allowing Shandurai to deviate from her moral countenance. He resorts to a will-she/won’t-she go-to- bed-with-him scenario that undermines any credibility the movie may have had for me. Does she fall in love with him? Maybe. If so, does she love her husband more? The evidence suggests she does. Kinsky never grows emotionally. The act of selling his possessions is more like those of a kid with an uncontrollable crush who showers the object of his affection with a ton of gifts. Kinsky’s got the money so he can do it. Is it possible that his actions are not entirely selfless? Does he hope for some kind of payback? Is winning her love a form a payback? Would he really give away his most prized possession to possess her? The title, "Besieged," suggests yes. If not, would Shandurai corrupt the purity of Kinsky’s actions by offering herself in an equally unselfish way on the eve of her husband’s arrival? Either way, I never believed the outcome for a second.
Some Video Pix
"Flirting" (1989) (Australian) Early Thandie Newton as a Ugandan attending a private Australian school who falls in love with a 17 year old white boy, played by Noah Taylor. He scored big time as the young David Helfgott in "Shine." With Nicole Kidman before she came to the states.
"Naked" (1993) Dir. Mike Leigh. David Thewlis won many international awards in a star making performance as an angry young drifter who relies on the good nature of others, especially women, for his hand to mouth to bed existence, and gives them grief in return.
The Best of Bertolucci
"The Conformist"(1971) (Italian with subtitles) A bona fide classic with Jean-Louis Trintignant as a member of the secret police in Fascist Italy in the thirties. He’ll do anything to be accepted, even commit murder. With Dominique Sanda, the star of the Oscar winning "The Garden of the Finzi Continis" one year earlier.
"Last Tango in Paris"(1973): Admittedly not one of my favorites, but worth a look just to see Marlon Brando’s searing portrait of a man who’s ready to end his life.
"1900" (1977) (Italian with subtitles): Different versions ranging from four to five and a half hours have been shown on the big screen. The longest appears on PBS every few years. Epic tale that traces the rise of Fascism through the eyes of two families. With Robert DeNiro, Donald Sutherland, Burt Lancaster, Gerard DePardieu, and Dominique Sanda.
"The Last Emperor" (1987)(multi-language with subtitles): Tale of Imperial China’s last titular head from early childhood to his last days as a common man under Chairman Mao Winner of nine Oscars including Best Picture. With John Lone, Joan Chen, and Peter O’Toole. The first movie shot inside The Forbidden City. This was recently re-mastered in a Director’s Cut with additional footage.