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La trasedia di un uomo ridicolo / The Tragedy of a Ridiculous Mam A Requiem for the
Left
In 1981, La tragedia di un uomo ridicolo / The Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man explored the
implosion of the Italian Left under the impact of Red Brigade terrorism. The film marked the
final breakdown in relations between Bertolucci and Italian film critics, and was instrumental
in the director's decision to leave his native country. Those critics who were leftist
intellectuals accused Bertolucci of indifference towards the problem of terrorism; (Socci
1996: 70) by contrast, he once again felt misunderstood. The following analysis of the film
will suggest that the film-maker, far from being indifferent to this complex situation, posited
two issues; that the birth of terrorism was a consequence of political disillusionment towards
the Communist Party and its politics; and that the terrorists' political praxis, once separated
from the official workers' movements, would lead to a fragmentation and dispersion of leftist
ideology in Italy. Hence the following analysis will explore how these two concepts are
embedded in a narrative based on the unconventional decision - given the film's theme - of
placing a capitalist entrepreneur, Primo Spaggiari (Ugo Tognazzi), in the role of a victim. It
will also highlight how The Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man, filmed after the stylistic allure of
1900 and La luna, represented a return to Bertolucci's earlier style of film-making, in its
evocation of the pensive, sombre atmospheres developed in Before the Revolution and Tlie
Spider's Stratagem. Beyond its politico-intellectual resonances, the film is also demanding
cognitively, requiring considerable engagement from the viewer to link the actions of its
enigmatic characters to its unfolding, cryptic narrative. The film also possesses a strong
emotional charge, and this chapter will outline how a profound sense of melancholy is
generated through the director's use of landscapes, music, and unusually for Bertolucci's
films, a process of close viewer alignment and allegiance with the character of Primo
Spaggiari.
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