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The emotional quality of the musical score
Music is another element which provides an affective undercurrent and mood to a film whose
resonances are predominantly intellectual. Plantinga argues that music is fundamental in
creating 'affective congruence' between sound and image, and in encouraging 'emotional
contagion' between the viewer and screen characters when expressive soundtrack music is
allied with facial close-ups (Plantinga, 1999: 254). The film's orchestral soundtrack is
effective in cueing disquiet during the symbolic confrontation between Athos jr. and his
father's bust; similarly, the opera arias from Verdi's Rigoletto which resound from
loudspeakers in the streets of Tara and which emanate with live opera performances at the
local theatre, all characters listening motionless, evokes - as Gorbman notes - the effect of 'a
Greek chorus commenting on a narrative temporarily frozen into spectacle' (Gorbman, 1987:
20). The use of opera has elicited symbolic parallels and critical interpretation (Kolker, 1985:
123) yet Bertolucci has denied that there is any thematic relevance between the arias and the
film's plot, affirming that Verdi's music was an element that he wanted to use to create 'a
regional, artisan film', and that since Verdi's music possesses a mythical dimension, it would
correlate with the 'mythic stature of the father' (Goldin, 1972: 64). These two effects - the
mythical dimension and the narrative temporarily frozen into spectacle - are instrumental in
creating a sense of the unreal as Athos jr. is attracted back towards Tara from the station after
having told Draifa that he was leaving.
Conclusion
As previously stated, since the film s emotional resonance remains muted, and since
cognitive engagement with, and resolution of, the enigmas in its narrative is problematic, the
significance of the film lies in its intellectual, real world implications. Stratagem may be read
as a sign of a more mature relationship between the director and the Italian Communist Party.
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