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Another example of this phenomenon occurs when the same shots are screened several times
in sequence. Bertolucci uses the technique during the Fabrizio/Gina liaison; the pair exchange
amorous glances as they approach each other (a sequence screened three times), and a young
woman scrutinizes Fabrizio as he wanders the streets (screened twice). The repeated
screening serves to jolt viewers, but at the same time, the slow pace and the mute soundtrack
that characterize both sequences divert part of the viewer's attention to the characters'
glances and body language, thereby inviting viewers to interpret and respond to this subtle
non-verbal emotional communication.
Conclusion
hi 1964, it was the French public and critics who acknowledged the innovative way in which
Before the Revolution explored the nature of individual and social discontent by awarding
Bertolucci the 'Prix Max Ophuls' and the 'Prix de la Jeune Critique'. Years later, Bertolucci
still proudly recalls how, at the end of the Cannes screening, Godard had publically praised
the film (Bertolucci, 2001:147). With regard to its political theme, according to Bertolucci,
the film was praised 'precisely because it was seen as a criticism of the PCI from the Left";
(Maraini, 1973: 86). But in Italy the film was not well received (Casetti 1978: 39-40),(5)
despite Bertolucci explaining that Fabrizio^s cowardice was a way to exorcise his own fear
about being sucked back into his bourgeois milieu, (Marcorelles and Bontemps, 1965: 15)
and he defended the film by saying that it referred to 'a generational question' in the sense
that his generation 'discovered politics at the end of the period of commitment. It was an
empty, really hollow moment and that explains the ambiguity of my film' (Fieschi, 1968: 34).
The contrasting reactions from foreign critics and those from Italy established a pattern for
the reception of Bertolucci's work for the rest of his career.
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