Questão de Tempo

Director Vincente Minnelli's final bow--one that was taken out of his hands by nervous studio chiefs and rearranged completely, resulting in disaster. The main plot, about an eccentric Contessa taking an Italian chambermaid under her wing, is fairly intriguing and well-performed (especially by a luminous Ingrid Bergman). However, the film, as it now stands, stupidly uses all the main action as a flashback, framed by useless footage of the chambermaid--now an international celebrity--riding around in limos and giving gooey advice to fawning youngsters. It's a near-travesty. I did enjoy the bits of fantasy that allow Liza Minnelli's character to travel about in her imagination, putting herself in the Contessa's place; and much of Geoffrey Unsworth's cinematography is truly evocative (like all those black birds taking flight at once as seen from Bergman's window). But the bungled editing doesn't allow this thing to ever come together or absorb the audience. It's no wonder this was a box-office failure. *1/2 from ****

It is not hard to understand why this movie has never been released on anything but 16mm, which is how I came to see it. This movie is a bit too eccentric to actually accomplish it's purpose. The acting is much too stylized and emphatic with the plot rather weak. The interest in this film lies in the fact that has many firsts and lasts. It is Charles Boyer's last film, and Isabella Rossellini's first. It is also the last film that Vincent Minnelli directed, and close to the end of Ingrid Bergman's career. Other than that there is little to recommend it, but it does have some interesting footage of Rome. It is about a chamber maid who gains employment in Rome taking care of a declining socialite who once strutted across the world stage but who is now on the rocks. She is unable to accept being a has-been and continues to live in her mind as though she is still the consort of emperors. Her new chamber maid Liza Minnelli tries to support her as well as she can, although it is a hopeless task.

How could the final film to be directed by Vincente Minnelli, for which he got to direct his daughter, Liza, and 1 starring Ingrid Bergman, for which her daughter, Isabella Rossellini, got to play her nurse, turn out to basically suck lemons?!? Just try and watch it all the way to the end (Liza's second singing bit comes near the end, and those two musical moments are the only bright spots in this dreadful film, although the movie itself is not a musical). I gave this 3-4 star (out of 10) movie an extra star because I love Ingrid without reservation, and Isabella would turn out to be darned good, too, but it's just a gift. Mr. Minnelli apparently spent his time encouraging Liza to over-emote (and hence overact), while ignoring his stars (even, in a bit part, Charles Boyer's last movie appearance), their roles and motivations. Watch "Cabaret" instead.

So much talent behind and in front of the camera to lay such a big egg. The whole thing reeks of decay and that seeps into the tenor of the film. There's no strong narrative flow to the film just a collection of scenes that lead nowhere. Liza is all over the place and only registers in a positive way twice, in the final hospital scene and most of all during the musical performance of the song Do It Again-really her only powerful moment. Of interest more for its cast of second generation performers than any merit or entertainment value of the actual film. Beside Liza there's a brief appearance of Isabella Rossellini in her screen bow and as Liza's cousin Tina Aumont, who was the daughter of B movie star Maria Montez and Jean-Pierre Aumont. Nonsensical mess was the unfortunate swan song of both Vincente Minnelli and Charles Boyer. Such a missed opportunity.

Ingrid Bergman is excellent in this unfortunate misfire, gruesomely "re-edited" by the clueless American-International studio. Vincente Minnelli disowned the finished project, and other directors (such as Martin Scorsese) took out ads in Variety protesting the re-cutting of the project. Liza's performance is all over the place, although she does have a few affecting moments. Overall, an intriguing mess.