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in ambiguity that stems from Caterina's exhibitionism, Marina's latent motives for
frequenting Caterina, and the nudity used in the sequence by Bertolucci. With these different
internal tensions, the scene elicits a form of affective arousal without being coherent either in
terms of human behaviour or artistic intentionality.
The dramatic undermined by the comic
Moments of emotional and dramatic tension in La luna are rarely fully developed, often
being sidetracked by comic or whimsical elements. The scene depicting Joe's rapture during
his mother's performance at the Opera, a scene initially marked by viewer alignment with the
boy, switches to a comic register as other spectators worry about having turned the gas off at
home; similarly the framing of Caterina on stage, wearing a classical Greek costume, her
right arm stretched out against a starry sky, is unlikely to elicit a sense of aesthetic beauty
because it will be superseded in most viewers' minds by a recognition of its calculated
similarity to the Columbia Pictures logo. A similar effect undermines the sequence where Joe
is left alone to prepare to meet his real father, for the first time, at the school where he
teaches. This would constitute an affective and narrative climax to most films, whether
mainstream or arthouse or a fusion of the two like La luna, especially given its orthodox,
linear narrative scheme. But any emotional intensity
or cognitive expectation of emotional intensity is
aborted. A cut to Joe crossing the playground,
closely following a limping caretaker, ensures that
the approach of the duo - shot frontally - evokes
classic comic visuals such as the Marx Brothers'
duck walk (see image).
At other times, tension is cut short by interruptions, notably in the dramatic sequence
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