This is a very controversial movie from Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Marlon Brando. I saw it in two parts spread over a week, and its hard to make up my mind, how I feel about it.
“Last tango in Paris” released in 1972 with a mixed response. The critics were split over whether it was a porn-exhibition or Bertolucci’s masterpiece. Also, some critics claim that this is Brando at his best. Seriously I dont have the answer to either of the questions. The characters speak mostly in French with some English thrown in occasionally.
Brando plays a middle-aged American in Paris, who gets into an affair with a very young parisian girl. The weird thing about their liasion is that they dont exchange names, their backgrounds, and practically anything about each other. Its based solely on sexual gratification. They meet in his rented apartment which bears a deserted look and indulge in stuff that ranges from machismo to plain cruelty. On the side, the girl has a filmaker ‘fiancee’ who keeps shooting her for his documentary.
That about the portion I saw on my first partial viewing. I found it quite uninteresting and did not derive much meaning from it. However, when I completed the movie last night, I admit it does have its own uniqueness, and a layer beneath the obvious going ons.
The backstory of Brando is slowly revealed, which is about his wife, who has recently commited suicide. Also she was having an affair with someone in the hotel they owned. Brando is shattered with her death, realizing how little he really understood her inspite of their marriage of some years. His faith has been shattered. Its his pain that we see when he indulges in his repungent acts with Jeanne, the young girl. His constant enforcement to ensure no personal details are exchanged is to ensure he is not attached or ‘gets to know’ this girl.
More interestingly, Jeanne is attrated to this man, who forces her in submission in various ways. Inspite all the pain and his lack of affection, she keeps coming back to his apartment. Hers is the more interesting character.
The underlying theme is pain and means how people react to it. Both the central characters react differently to their pain. He looks for an outlet to relieve himself of it. She seems to be attracted towards it… towards the insanity, the almost fantasy she finds in the apartment.
I remember the debate surrounding MEMENTO, and how some critics panned it saying without its reverse narrative, the story doesnt have enough meat to told. Now, I think this holds true for a large number of movies, with “The Last tango in Paris” being a good example as well. Its only because of the fractured narrative, where in we start with Brando already in mourning and embarking on this strange affair with Jeanne, and slowly his back-story being revealed to give us a snapshot of his state of mind, that this movie holds our interest. On a different plane, the narrative IS the movie. And choosing a different approach to tell the ’story’ is what makes the movie.
Anyway, this one is strictly for those who dont flinch on seeing carnal activities on display.
