Download (12MB) - University of Salford Institutional Repository
Download (12MB) - University of Salford Institutional Repository Download (12MB) - University of Salford Institutional Repository
appears overwhelmed by the list of the names of dead soldiers on huge marble slabs fixed on the wall. Elsewhere, Clerici is dwarfed by the full size wall painting in the brothel, and is swallowed up by the huge courtyard of an asylum where the patients appear lost in its mesmerising whiteness. To reinforce the sense of the individual's vulnerability within these spaces, the scenes are sometimes shot with Bertolucci using the noir device of unbalanced frame compositions. The effect of these framings is sometimes heightened by using wide- angle lenses, as occurs in the overwhelming setting of the Minister's office; this space is traversed by Clerici and by an administrator in an off-centre motion in order to create a sense of imbalance to accompany the subtle sense of visual distortion. A similar result is achieved by the use on several occasions of another noir effect, skewed camera angles, one showing Clerici walking along a street to his mother's house, when the car of Manganiello - Clerici's Fascist 'minder' - suddenly appears in the frame, looking for him (see image). The sense of oppressive disorientation intensifies as the car suddenly brakes close to a gate behind which Clerici has sought protection. Another skewed camera angle is deployed when Clerici travels by taxi to Quadri's house, hi both scenes Bertolucci uses a disorienting visual scheme to emphasize Clerici's sense of being out of his depth and vulnerable as a result of joining the Fascist secret police. To reiterate that 'these strained compositions and angles are not merely embellishments or rhetorical flourishes, but form the semantic substance of the film (noir)' (Harvey, 1998: 23) it is worth mentioning a scene in the Paris hotel when Clerici is filmed frontally as if he is waiting for the lift. Startlingly, the next shot shows a group of people who move indifferently towards and beyond him. Viewers, momentarily disoriented, realize that Clerici was not waiting for the lift, but was inside it. Subsequently, when he steps out and stands staring at 188
the closed doors, his sense of solitude is increased by the camera moving unexpectedly backwards, instead of tracking him as he turns and walks along the corridor. Configuring Anna Quadri as a femme fatale The viewer's cognitive and affective engagement with the film is also influenced by the character of Anna Quadri who is made to conform to the figure of the femme fatale by Bertolucci's adaptation of Alberto Moravia's original novel. Bertolucci shapes the character into a mysterious figure who derives power from her sexuality, which she uses to get information to protect her husband: in offering herself to Clerici, she utters: 'Please do not harm us', the 'us' obviously implying her husband, but Bertolucci does not completely sideline the lesbian overtones of the equivalent character in Moravia's novel. Instead, he uses them in a subtle yet provocative way to arouse Clerici - and, via the character's POV shots, the viewer - as elements of voyeurism are introduced. Bertolucci opts for a close-up of Anna's face as she notices Clerici behind the hotel room door which is ajar. Consequently, the calculated way in which Anna, still looking towards Clerici, lavishes attention on Giulia is as much of a titillating provocation as an expression of genuine sexual interest towards her. Similarly, the sequence of Anna and Giulia dancing at the restaurant can be considered as another early example of Bertolucci's penchant for sensual aestheticism bordering on voyeurism that resurfaced in his subsequent films. The accompanying dialogue between Clerici and Quadri represents two sides of the bourgeois psyche perfectly, Clerici's prudish discomfort at a public (not private) display of sensuality as he asks Quadri to stop the women dancing, and Quadri's more voyeuristic pleasure as he comments: 'Why, can't you see how beautiful they are?' Bertolucci utilizes the actress Dominque Sanda to generate the iconic allure of the femme fatale, a strategy which elicits dual processes of affective and intellectual engagement 189
- Page 141 and 142: scene of Clara's murder by the doub
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- Page 147 and 148: Bertolucci, B. (1967) 'Versus Godar
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- Page 163 and 164: also cue a sense of cold unresponsi
- Page 165 and 166: 2. 'Holy family, church of good cit
- Page 167 and 168: easoned, 'great movies of the past,
- Page 169 and 170: it towards the images being splashe
- Page 171 and 172: when, in voiceover, he recollects:
- Page 173 and 174: to one of the character's parents a
- Page 175 and 176: Sexuality and shifts of subjectivit
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- Page 179 and 180: notion that 'Decadence cultivates a
- Page 181 and 182: engaging. Unfortunately the core of
- Page 183 and 184: Section Three: Between History and
- Page 185 and 186: II conformista/The Conformist: The
- Page 187 and 188: to the female protagonists Severine
- Page 189 and 190: constitute an example of the femme
- Page 191: despises, ranging from Fascist offi
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- Page 197 and 198: Bertolucci seemed aware of the film
- Page 199 and 200: illuminated as if to imply the brig
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- Page 205 and 206: Notes 1. They Live by Night (1948)
- Page 207 and 208: 1985: 73) should be contextualized
- Page 209 and 210: The film's cognitive structure and
- Page 211 and 212: daily life elicits nostalgia for a
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- Page 217 and 218: part of the film depicting the peas
- Page 219 and 220: engagement will again change from e
- Page 221 and 222: leadership, which is arguably assum
- Page 223 and 224: References Bachmann, G. (1973) 'Eve
- Page 225 and 226: The success of The Last Emperor ena
- Page 227 and 228: L 'ultimo imperatore/The Last Emper
- Page 229 and 230: out; the red of a notice on the wal
- Page 231 and 232: The intellectual implications of th
- Page 233 and 234: the Forbidden City. This, combined
- Page 235 and 236: Japanese. His personality fits the
- Page 237 and 238: the belief that whereas language ma
- Page 239 and 240: In addition, the presence of a hist
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the closed doors, his sense <strong>of</strong> solitude is increased by the camera moving unexpectedly<br />
backwards, instead <strong>of</strong> tracking him as he turns and walks along the corridor.<br />
Configuring Anna Quadri as a femme fatale<br />
The viewer's cognitive and affective engagement with the film is also influenced by the<br />
character <strong>of</strong> Anna Quadri who is made to conform to the figure <strong>of</strong> the femme fatale by<br />
Bertolucci's adaptation <strong>of</strong> Alberto Moravia's original novel. Bertolucci shapes the character<br />
into a mysterious figure who derives power from her sexuality, which she uses to get<br />
information to protect her husband: in <strong>of</strong>fering herself to Clerici, she utters: 'Please do not<br />
harm us', the 'us' obviously implying her husband, but Bertolucci does not completely<br />
sideline the lesbian overtones <strong>of</strong> the equivalent character in Moravia's novel. Instead, he uses<br />
them in a subtle yet provocative way to arouse Clerici - and, via the character's POV shots,<br />
the viewer - as elements <strong>of</strong> voyeurism are introduced. Bertolucci opts for a close-up <strong>of</strong><br />
Anna's face as she notices Clerici behind the hotel room door which is ajar. Consequently,<br />
the calculated way in which Anna, still looking towards Clerici, lavishes attention on Giulia<br />
is as much <strong>of</strong> a titillating provocation as an expression <strong>of</strong> genuine sexual interest towards her.<br />
Similarly, the sequence <strong>of</strong> Anna and Giulia dancing at the restaurant can be considered as<br />
another early example <strong>of</strong> Bertolucci's penchant for sensual aestheticism bordering on<br />
voyeurism that resurfaced in his subsequent films. The accompanying dialogue between<br />
Clerici and Quadri represents two sides <strong>of</strong> the bourgeois psyche perfectly, Clerici's prudish<br />
discomfort at a public (not private) display <strong>of</strong> sensuality as he asks Quadri to stop the women<br />
dancing, and Quadri's more voyeuristic pleasure as he comments: 'Why, can't you see how<br />
beautiful they are?'<br />
Bertolucci utilizes the actress Dominque Sanda to generate the iconic allure <strong>of</strong> the<br />
femme fatale, a strategy which elicits dual processes <strong>of</strong> affective and intellectual engagement<br />
189
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