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Guadagnino's 7-Hour Ode to Bertolucci: A Cinephile's Dream
10 Sep
Summary
- Luca Guadagnino's 7-hour documentary explores Bernardo Bertolucci's work.
- The film features extensive interviews with filmmakers and critics.
- It highlights a bygone era of passionate film appreciation and discussion.
Luca Guadagnino's seven-hour documentary, "Joie de Vivre," offers an expansive exploration of filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci's cinematic legacy. The film, subtitled "Notes, Thoughts, Words, Reflections, Faces, Visions Around Bernardo Bertolucci and the Cinephilia of the 20th Century That Is No More," premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
Guadagnino's approach is uniquely thorough, allowing interviews with filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Catherine Breillat, as well as critics, to unfold without excessive trimming. These discussions delve into specific films, production controversies, and Bertolucci's broader impact.
The documentary also touches upon Bertolucci's personal life, his influences like Pier Paolo Pasolini, and the challenges he faced due to mobility issues later in his career. Guadagnino himself shares his personal connection and admiration for Bertolucci.
Despite Bertolucci's political leanings and aestheticism, the article notes he is not widely embraced by younger cineastes. Guadagnino attempts to bridge this gap by explaining concepts like the French New Wave. The piece argues that contemporary audiences are not to blame, suggesting older generations may have abandoned the cinephilic spirit Bertolucci embodied.
While some subjects like homoeroticism and Marxism are addressed, others are handled delicately, such as Bertolucci's personal life and his later films. The film's length provides ample space for these nuanced explorations, even in their elisions.
