Ultimo tango a Parigi

Widely denounced as obscene upon its release and unjustifiably notorious for two of its scenes, Bernardo Bertolucci's 'Last Tango in Paris' is a savage story of lust and sexual debasement.

Marlon Brando delivers a ferocious performance as Paul, a middle-aged American expatriate tormented by his wife, Rosa's recent suicide, her infidelities and his failure to understand their relationship. In meeting a 20 year old girl, Jeanne, played by Maria Schneider, in an empty apartment, Paul hopes to form a relationship purely on his own terms and at his own pace, i.e. one he can understand fully. He insists on a new form of relationship, so basic that even their names were kept secret from each other, where she submitted to his every desire, where he could punish himself and relieve his despair and anger towards his wife by punishing Jeanne. Paul's only other interest is in Marcel (Massimo Girotti), Rosa's lover, for whom he has a curious respect and maybe a desire to obtain through him a better understanding of his own wife.

Despite his overpowering talent, Marlon Brando has often shown poor judgement in his choice of projects and has frequently trudged through films with no apparent effort or interest. In 'Last Tango in Paris' he gives everything and produces a performance of unrivalled force. Unfortunately the obvious improvisation in the film prevents the character of Paul from staying within check as he gradually becomes too much like Marlon Brando in the second half of the film. Nonetheless, when Brando is off-screen the film becomes hollow in comparison and is replaced by Jeanne's relationship with her fiance, an annoyingly pretentious TV director (Jean-Pierre Leaud).

This is a truly unique film and Bertolucci successfully highlights the romance in an affair that is fundamentally destructive. Brando's performance is remarkably powerful and intense, eclipsing every other player and dominating the entire film.

I'm thinking of "Last Tango in Paris" today because Neznaia, a kind IMDb user, asked me to write about it and I promised I would. Now a dilemma. Shall I write as I remember the experience or shall I watch it again? Well I'm already here so I seem to have taken a decision. Butter, that was the key word that pushed crowds to line up outside the theaters all over the world. Over the years the film has been vilified as utter euro trash or acclaimed as one of the best films ever made. I think that the truth falls somewhere in the middle. Bertolucci was coming out of at least two certified masterpieces of political, social and cinematic achievement "Before the Revolution" and "The Conformist". Tango is something else altogether, cinema veritè photographed by Vittorio Storaro, a revolutionary artistic genius, Gato Barbieri's music and Marlon Brando giving himself totally in one of the most brilliant pieces of self indulgence ever put on film. Within the intellectual coldness of its intentions breaths a stunning melodrama of operatic proportions. As a side note let me tell you that legend has it that in the original script, the Maria Schnaider's character, was a boy. At the time an idea of the sort was too outrageous to even consider. Everybody was very sophisticated but not that sophisticated. Apparently the movie went on with a girl in the part but not even a coma was changed from the original. Now, look at the film again with that in mind and you will notice that everything, as if by magic, makes perfect sense. We are ask to justify Brando's first wild approach to Schnaider was an irrational reaction to the pain, the anger and confusion by his wife death. Well yes, but he is a man, she is a woman, they may be braking a few rules but the basics remain intact, unless, of course she wasn't a she. If they are a man and a girl above the age of consent why the charade of secrecy? Why she's never really dressed like a girl, always jackets and open neck shirts and why they never make love like a man and a woman, usually, do? A lot of fingers and butter and,talk. When they get to the tango scene Brando dances with a real woman while Maria Schnaider monkeys around them. And finally look at the end and tell me if doesn't make much more sense if she was a he. She could have explained everything, embarrassing perhaps I don't know, but perfectly normal. If she was a he, the son of a military man, the thing had an entirely different color. Impossible to admit or to explain for a boy. Their affair is not between two gay man but between two heterosexuals. That's the key, that's at the center of it all. A breaking of rules in the most intimate way. To go against what you have come to accept as your own nature. I may be wrong of course, but I don't think so. I will see it again as soon as I can and if I feel that this memory of the film is merely a product of what I may have been smoking at the time I will let you know. But, somehow, I don't think I will have to.

Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris is like any other piece of art; You get out of it only as much as you put into it. Many people saw this movie in the 1970's (and still see it today) as being pornography and nothing else. Others viewed it and took note of Brando's performance (how could you not?!?), and noticed much, much more than a mere "skin flick." Personally, I find it to be a very important piece of art. Why? Because it broke barriers! In art, barriers only exist so that they may be broken, and I know that sounds like some "liberal artsy BS," but I think it's true. Artists are always trying to get down to the basics of human existence, and, unfortunately, it's not always pretty. This film, I believe, portrays a few elements of the human experience. Passion is the first. Then, facades, our need to defend ourselves from vulnerability. Also, the film tries to show the circular nature of our lives (things end only to begin again). The passion is expertly exposed through the savage brutality that Brando brings to the performance, as only he knew how to. Many argue that this was Brando's finest performance, and I can see why. I don't know if I could ever pick one performance of his and say it was his best, but this would easily, easily be a prime candidate. In Last Tango in Paris, Marlon Brando pulls out all of the stops, almost abusing his freedom in the role. Yet, this is where the film gets truly intriguing. Is this an act? It is, at least in name, a performance, but, how much of it is a performance, and how much is a stream of consciousness therapy session? I have never seen an actor pour so much of himself out before a camera. Watching it, I couldn't help but wonder, "What must be going on behind his eyes?" How can a man reveal so much of who he is, knowing that it is being filmed to be viewed by millions? Brando's "performance" forces the audience to question is Marlon Brando the performer or the performance. We'll never know. Perhaps he didn't know. Perhaps that is how he could pull off the monumental performance that he did. It is quite possibly the greatest performance I have ever seen. The fact that I have to wonder whether his character, Paul, is the truth or an image is only testament to Brando's power. As far as the circular nature of things, we see a role-reversal between Maria Schneider and Marlon Brando. At the beginning, it is Brando who is confused, lost, driven mad by the toll that a past love has taken on him. Yet, at the end of the film, it is Schneider's Jeanne who cares not about names, identity, and personal histories. Her life is committed to distance and emotional isolation. Her mind has confined itself to that little apartment where intimacy knew no bounds, except the publicity of a painful outside world. A million questions could be asked about these two central characters. What was going on in their minds? Who was more fragile, the tormented Paul, or the seemingly carefree Jeanne? Who controlled the relationship? Was there control? Was there a relationship? This film, like all other great films, leaves us asking questions, not only about the characters we've seen, but about the characters we portray on a daily basis.

The acting of Marlon Brando is one of the major reasons to watch this feature film. Brando for the first time in his career exhibits a physical performance that matches the emotional intensity of his earlier films. Paul like the lead male characters in A Streetcar Named Desire(1951) and On the Waterfront(1954) is someone who behaves in an animalistic fashion. 1972 saw Marlon Brando in a banner year with his performances in The Godfather and Last Tango in Paris. It was the last great performance of Marlon Brando as he hasn't done anything good(except Apocalypse Now) as this.

The actor shows plenty of emotion and human depth in his role. Some of the scenes with Maria Schneider are some of the most difficult things done by the actor. The scene where Paul lets out his anger and frustration out on his dead wife is a prime example of why Marlon Brando is a great actor. This sequence reveals some about the character of paul. Marlon does a convincing job during the erotic scenes.

The direction by Bernardo Bertolucci is fantastic. It seems that being an Assistent Director for Pier Paolo Pasolini had paid off in the making of Ultimo Tango a Parigi/Last Tango in Paris(1972). There are Pasolinian moments that are evident in many parts of the movie. Bertolucci spends more time creating a three dimensional chracter in Paul then he did on Jeanne. The erotic sequences are done by the director with finesse and style.

There is a contrast between Paul(Last Tango In Paris), and Vitto(The Godfather). First, Vitto is calm and cool while Paul is emotionally unstable. Second, Paul is sexually active while Vitto is sexually inactive. Third, Vitto concerns himself with the family structure and Paul is an individual. Finally, Paul is middle aged and somewhat in shape and Vitto is old and nearing death.

On the day of its release, Last Tango in Paris Stirred up an enormous uproar. This had nothing to do with the sex scenes itself but the content that propelled these scenes. It was banned in the director's native soil. One scene that caused a stir is the scene where Jeanne puts her hand in Paul's backside. Another scene that upset people is the infamous "Butteromy" Sequence.

Maria Schneider gives a couragous and emotionally difficult performance as Jeanne. This film had a negative effect on the actress as she later had a breakdown and spent some time in an asylum. In one interview, Maria Schneider discussed her displeasure with the director. She does a wonderful job in the scene where she describes her relationship with a cousin as a young girl. She does things that many well known actresses would be afraid to do.

The emotional level of the sex scenes are what caused such a scandal. The sex is not out of love but out of despair and the yearning for human contact. The "Butteromy" scene takes that notion to the extreme. What makes the sex scandalous is the fact that Paul and Jeanne treat it in a matter of fact way. It seems that Paul is Jeanne's sex toy as that's the way she views him.

Romance director, Catherine Breillit has an appearence in Last Tango in Paris(1972). The supporting cast are good in their perspective roles. Jean-Pierre Leaud is terrific in his portrayal of Jeanne's clueless beau. He would appear in another erotic themed feature called The Mother & the Whore(1973). Jean Pierre Leaud's character is the exact opposite of Paul.

Ultimo Tango a Parigi opens with images of a Francis Bacon painting. The characters are nothing but live paint figures of a Francis Bacon masterwork. The director was influenced by the works of the painter when he decided to do the film. The scene where Brando is crouched in a corner is a live reactment of one painting during the opening credits. Bacon's paintings like the feature look deep within the pits of the human soul.

Agnes Varda wrote some additional dialogue for this motion picture. Last Tango in Paris comes between two classics in The Conformist(1970), and 1900(1976). It is avilable in both a R and NC-17 version. The ending is ironic and tragic because Paul is on the verge of turning over a new leaf. The cinematography by Vittorio Storaro makes the camera another member of the cast.

The film stunned me when I saw it in the cinema some 45 years ago and I'm not sure I have braved it since unless I watched some murky video. So much has happened in cinema since that first viewing that it is no longer quite so shocking but still packs a punch. Beautifully shot, there are lovely shots of Paris and the light upon the walls of the apartment but there is ugliness too and there is never a moment one can relax confident that all will be well. Brando is brilliant, if slightly awkward and Maria Schneider does well to keep up in English, French and broken English. As the two mismatched individuals merge together into some sort of passionate but loveless relationship we learn something of the background. Essentially, Brando is bereft following the suicide of his wife, right at the start and Schneider has a much more conventional, if barely believable one with an aspiring film maker. He is played by Jean-Pierre Leaud, he star of many New Wave films, particularly for Godard and Truffault and it would seem that Bertolucci is having a little fun here pitting the pretty boy of trendy 60s cinema against the old brawler Brando (I understand though that Leaud was so intimidated by the American giant that he could not work alongside him). I noticed this time that the soundtrack I have always loved seems to begin and finish rather abruptly at certain points of the film and it seems I may have found the reason. Apparently there is, or was, a four hour rough cut of the film and that it was this that Gato Barbieri studied in order to decide where the film required music. Seems reasonable, therefore, to suppose that when the film was cut by almost a half, the music may no longer slip so unobtrusively in and out.