Besieged Review
by Tim Chandler (shaukaas AT datanet DOT ab DOT ca)November 25th, 1999
Besieged
Rating: 2 stars out of 4
The Info
Directed by: Bernardo Bertolucci
Written by: James Lasdun, Bernardo Bertolucci, Clare Peploe Starring: Thandie Newton, David Thewlis
Produced by: Massimo Cortesi
The Nutshell
The story of a young woman caught between unwanted love from her employer and a husband jailed in Africa.
The Review
When you strip a love story down to its bare essentials, what do you have? Funny sing-a-long scenes like in My Best
Friend's Wedding? No. A dorm room filled with pink balloons like in Patch Adams? Nuh-uh. How about a grotesquely funny
Welsh flatmate like in Notting Hill? Not even close. When you look at the heart behind a true love story, you are left with two things; love, either wanted or unwanted, between two people, and the circumstances that bring them together. While many
supposed romantic films are just chances for big stars to look cute (think Meg Ryan in Addicted To Love), Besieged is a hard
look at doomed love; no silly sub-plots, no big stars to distract us. Bernardo Bertolucci's new film is obviously different from
the rest of the pack, but perhaps it is too different.
The story is simple to tell, but filled with deep emotions. Shandurai's (Newton) husband gets imprisoned in an unnamed African nation, and some time later she leaves for Rome to get an education and a good job. She works as a housecleaner for
Mr. Kinsky (Thewlis), an eccentric pianist, while doing to night school. Mr. Kinsky rather painfully loves her, something
Shandurai takes in stride, not wanting to leave a well-paying job. Normally, this is about as much of the plot a critic will tell, leaving all of the sub-plots and other bits to the viewer to discover. However, the story of Besieged is so sparsely told that this is almost all there is to tell; it is left to us, the audience, to figure out what is going on. Once the film leaves Africa for Rome, the narrative jumps forward to a point where Shandurai has worked for Mr. Kinsky for some time. We know this for he is already
deeply in love with her, sending her flowers down the laundry-chute at one point. The viewer's first conscious thought is "Wait,
when did he fall for her? Who is he and why is she working for him? Wait, we aren't in Africa any more?".
This method of story-telling can be useful. Many films explain everything to you, diluting their story and distracting you from the action; perhaps the only flaw in Hitchcock's Psycho is the psychiatrist's lengthy explanation of what is wrong with Norman Bates in the film's denouement. Other films leave out key pieces of information, to provide a surprise climax. Several films this year have used this trick, one to great financial success. Besieged however leaves gaps in its narrative solely to concentrate on the important parts. Thus, we have to deduce for ourselves what the relationship is between Shandurai and Mr. Kinsky.
Making your audience think is not in itself a bad thing, but with a film as layered and deep as Besieged is, so much time is spent trying to put together what's happening that many subtleties go unnoticed.
Besieged is sparse not only in its narrative, but also in its dialogue. Whole scenes go by where neither character speaks, engaging instead in meaningful looks and glances. Had two lesser actors been chosen for the roles, this lack of speech would
have buried the film. David Thewlis and Thandie Newton are both more than capable at emoting through facial expressions,
however, creating an electrical tension between them. We hardly know what Mr. Kinsky's motivations are, yet we are drawn
into the helplessness of his love anyway. The love story itself is a raw, powerful one that is uncommon in the majority of films today. Kinsky seems unable to do anything but love Shandurai. He knows of her past, and of her husband back in Africa, yet
can't stop himself. He makes great sacrifices for her, very noble sacrifices that threaten to ruin his own life, such is the power of the emotions running through him.
Bertolucci uses a filming style that, with the deliberate plot holes, further serves to distract the viewer. He has chopped frames out of certain scenes, so that one second out of every third or so is missing. The result is a jerky, confusing movement
that seems more like art for art's sake than useful. The final effect is one of consternation with the film. When discussing the film afterwards, more viewers will be irately discussing the way characters twitched around the scene than about how well-written
the story was. While no film can please everyone, Besieged could have earned a lot more fans had Bertolucci laid off on the flourishes a little. It is a real shame for this is one of the better love stories I've seen in years.
Copyright - Tim Chandler
The Bottom Line -
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Heights/8000/index.html email: [email protected]
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