Download (12MB) - University of Salford Institutional Repository
Download (12MB) - University of Salford Institutional Repository Download (12MB) - University of Salford Institutional Repository
Emphasis is placed on Catholicism's responsibility in oppressing the existences of the individual and of society; a young provincial intellectual, Alessandro, voices his existential reflections by reciting poetry; an incestuous relationship is implied between him and his sister Giulia; and the completion of Alessandro's destiny - his death - is marked aurally by the playing of a recording of an opera, La Traviata, and visually by out-of-focus images. Stylistically, the film is shot in black and white, and the tonal qualities of certain sequences evoke the aesthetic and metaphorical impact of Before the Revolution. Luminous tones are used in the bathroom where Alessandro murders his brother and in the bedroom where he attempts to murder Giulia, with its white walls, bed linen and the pillow with which he tries to suffocate her. The intensity of the whiteness absorbs everything in it, and metaphorically conveys the protagonist's distorted perception of an undesired reality. Given the similarities in the three films, the pessimism and melancholy pervading Before the Revolution clearly expressing the unease and alienation affecting sections of leftist intellectuals in Italy at that time. Temporal distance created by aural and visual effects Cognitively, Before the Revolution is characterized by subjective representations, these originating from the strongly biographical quality of the narrative that makes both its internal focalization and external focalization (Branigan, 1992: 102) referable to the film's author, Bertolucci. Nevertheless, although the film's internal focalization is attached to the thoughts and actions of both Fabrizio and Gina, a process supported by the recurrent use of their voiceovers, this becomes a mediated effect that divests the action of much of its spontaneity, even when it gives insights into their intimacy. The voiceover conditions the viewing experience from the beginning of the film by establishing a perception of time on the part of viewers which inhibits their hypotheses about the development of narrative events, hi fact the 80
audiovisual construction of the opening sequence - as already mentioned - consists of a darkened screen accompanied by Fabrizio's voiceover: 'Now that I lead a quiet life, I feel I do not exist any longer, which appears designed to create a perception among viewers that the following narrative is a series of recollections, in effect an extended flashback that positions the film's events even further back within the time/space continuum and drains them of goal-oriented impetus. Commenting on this sort of narrative voiceover at the beginning of films, Grodal suggests that the subsequent images appear 'dead' and 'saturated', and that viewers 'can no longer mobilize a simulation of voluntary possibilities of interference, change, and undecidedness'; therefore such films elicit 'the same saturated, fatalistic feeling that we experience when we look at old news or at homemade videos of our private lives' (Grodal, 1997: 120-121). The film's images also evoke the effect of old, overexposed photographs, an impression which induces viewers - regardless of when the film is/was viewed - to perceive its events as occurring at a distant point in time and space, thereby reducing its already limited narrative momentum and creating a sense of stasis. These techniques, together with the film's slow pace, cue a perception of the diegesis as an environment in which any change or evolution is unlikely. The Nouvelle Vague influence in cognitive and intellectual terms While Bertolucci had political reservations about the present, he embraced it stylistically by drawing on the innovations of the Nouvelle Vague; he was particularly enthusiastic about Godard's work, from which the Italian director drew inspiration. Godard's conceptual influence on Before the Revolution is instantiated by the use of voiceover commentaries and dialogue containing philosophical reflections on the human condition in contemporary society; stylistically, his influence emerges in conspicuous visual constructions that foreground the viewer's awareness of the camera and the act of film-making. These include Godardian devices ranging from jump cuts to location filming via a hand-held camera; the 81
- Page 33 and 34: In discussing different narrative t
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- Page 47 and 48: to the point of drawing the spectat
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- Page 51 and 52: passive emotionalism' (Sterritt, 19
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- Page 57 and 58: apolitical art' in La Chinoise (p.
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- Page 127 and 128: Moravia, A. (1971) lo e lui, (1990)
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audiovisual construction <strong>of</strong> the opening sequence - as already mentioned - consists <strong>of</strong> a<br />
darkened screen accompanied by Fabrizio's voiceover: 'Now that I lead a quiet life, I feel I<br />
do not exist any longer, which appears designed to create a perception among viewers that<br />
the following narrative is a series <strong>of</strong> recollections, in effect an extended flashback that<br />
positions the film's events even further back within the time/space continuum and drains<br />
them <strong>of</strong> goal-oriented impetus. Commenting on this sort <strong>of</strong> narrative voiceover at the<br />
beginning <strong>of</strong> films, Grodal suggests that the subsequent images appear 'dead' and 'saturated',<br />
and that viewers 'can no longer mobilize a simulation <strong>of</strong> voluntary possibilities <strong>of</strong><br />
interference, change, and undecidedness'; therefore such films elicit 'the same saturated,<br />
fatalistic feeling that we experience when we look at old news or at homemade videos <strong>of</strong> our<br />
private lives' (Grodal, 1997: 120-121). The film's images also evoke the effect <strong>of</strong> old,<br />
overexposed photographs, an impression which induces viewers - regardless <strong>of</strong> when the<br />
film is/was viewed - to perceive its events as occurring at a distant point in time and space,<br />
thereby reducing its already limited narrative momentum and creating a sense <strong>of</strong> stasis. These<br />
techniques, together with the film's slow pace, cue a perception <strong>of</strong> the diegesis as an<br />
environment in which any change or evolution is unlikely.<br />
The Nouvelle Vague influence in cognitive and intellectual terms<br />
While Bertolucci had political reservations about the present, he embraced it stylistically by<br />
drawing on the innovations <strong>of</strong> the Nouvelle Vague; he was particularly enthusiastic about<br />
Godard's work, from which the Italian director drew inspiration. Godard's conceptual<br />
influence on Before the Revolution is instantiated by the use <strong>of</strong> voiceover commentaries and<br />
dialogue containing philosophical reflections on the human condition in contemporary<br />
society; stylistically, his influence emerges in conspicuous visual constructions that<br />
foreground the viewer's awareness <strong>of</strong> the camera and the act <strong>of</strong> film-making. These include<br />
Godardian devices ranging from jump cuts to location filming via a hand-held camera; the<br />
81
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