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experience engendered by the beautiful seascape, and by the unease generated by Caterina's
over intimate approach to the toddler. The nocturnal bicycle ride is designed to cue a poetic,
lyrical ambience, which occasionally characterizes the narration later on.
Plot summary
The main narrative begins with the toddler having now grown into the teenager Joe, who
feels neglected by his mother Caterina, an acclaimed soprano. A trip to Rome reveals the
extent of his solitude, in contrast with the way Caterina flourishes through the love of friends
and fans. Joe's deviated affection for his mother emerges as he, in a delirious state as a
consequence of drug withdrawal symptoms, encourages Caterina to masturbate him. Away
from Rome, they visit places frequented by Caterina in her youth - which are the settings of
Bertolucci's previous films - and encounter a range of peculiar characters. Eventually mother
and son end up in a hotel room and another sexual situation develops, but abruptly and
furiously Joe withdraws from this intimacy. Caterina resolves to let him meet his real father,
the man who appeared in the prologue. They meet at the beach house where everything has
remained unchanged, including the basket with the wool balls. The film ends with Joe
meeting and being slapped by his biological father at the Caracalla Baths where Caterina will
perform. The last images are of the three characters smiling at each other, as the moon rises
behind an inspired Caterina who sings in a pale, feathery dress which mirrors the moon's
evanescence.
Narrative linearity and cognitive engagement
The narrative of La luna appears to be the most linear of Bertolucci's films, which are usually
characterized by formal and structural complexity. In particular the narrative features several
mainstream conventions such as instances of similarity and repetition; a circular pattern
established between the opening and ending, with the ending resuming the filirfs opening to
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