•
Rating:
In 1971, Luchino Visconti is considered among the greatest directors of all time and from all regions. With "Death in Venice", he confirms his great talent once again.
Based on a story by Thomas Mann.
Venice, 1911, the composer Gustav von Aschenbach goes to the Lido, at the Hotel des Bains, for a period of rest to recover from a heart attack he had suffered some time before. Here, the mature protagonist is struck by the androgynous beauty of a very young Polish boy, Tadzio, who frequents the hotel's beach. He becomes infatuated, and this infatuation causes a deep crisis within his soul, leading him to both resist this feeling and desire to embrace it, experiencing all its emotions.
Once again, Visconti confirms himself as a top-tier filmmaker. His touch is unique. He manages to create, using only the cinematographic element, the visual, an atmosphere more thorough than a thousand words. The attention to set design and costumes is astounding and, once more, I note that such results are achieved not only through talent but also, and above all, through a great sense of work, even leading to the most extreme consequences: obsessiveness. The same obsessiveness that demanded that period cutlery be present in the kitchen drawers in the film "The Leopard," insisted upon by Visconti himself, even though the drawers were never opened during the movie!
Death in Venice is a sumptuous, solemn, and tragic film.
The beginning is famous. The composer arrives in Venice on a boat. A scene without dialogue but with a symphony by Mahler. The ensemble is nothing short of suggestive and immediately creates an atmosphere that perfectly matches the film's sense you are about to see. A presentation even Mike Bongiorno on "Rischiatutto" couldn't top...
Returning to the cinema element. I consider Death in Venice an exalted example of cinema because Visconti manages, solely with the aid of images (very few dialogues), to paint with dazzling clarity the state of mind of Gustav. He is an old-school composer, an absolutely upright man, married. However, when he first sees the young boy, who is also a guest at the hotel, we immediately understand that he will fall hopelessly in love with him. It must be said that this boy is indeed of unparalleled beauty (where did Visconti find him?) and perfectly plays the part assigned to him. A young, beautiful, immaculate angel, and yet... in his gestures, in his enigmatic smile, even in his astonishing composure, everything tells us that he is the fruit of sin, indeed the personification of sin itself.
Gustav, within just a few days, is literally upset and devastated by the awareness of his desires, his feelings that have suddenly and loudly erupted... The awareness of a homosexual love and, in this case, if we want to, rather similar even to the abominable concept of pedophilia because the boy could be at most 14 years old...
But there's nothing to do... The more he despairs, the more he remains enchanted (and chained) every time he crosses paths with the boy, who has even noticed him and does not deny him some looks and some enigmatic smiles... I love you... don't smile at anyone like that...
And the plague will come, death in Venice, heedless of anything, hand in hand with Gustav and his impossible and damned love... but not even the plague will erase Gustav's feelings, indeed, it will take second place... it will be more important to make oneself beautiful, put on makeup properly, eliminate that tired air and those gray strands in the hair, and wear a white and immaculate suit... all in honor of Tadzio.
A slow, boring film where almost nothing happens.
Masterpiece.
Loading comments slowly
