Besieged Review
by "Steve Rhodes" (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)May 31st, 1999
BESIEGED
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
A romantic musical mystery?
Although Bernardo Bertolucci's BESIEGED doesn't fit into any standard genre, perhaps that's the closest way to peg it. It is a romance, albeit a highly tentative one, and it's based on a mystery, although one that's transparently obvious. As a film overflowing with music and containing almost no dialog, it might be considered a musical, although the leads in this 2-person drama don't sing.
Opening to haunting African rhythms, the story starts in Africa. The serenely beautiful Thandie Newton plays Shandurai, a medical student who treats deformed young patients. On her way to see her husband, a gifted teacher, army trucks zoom past her. They're going to put her husband in a political prison, which appears to be tantamount to a death sentence.
As she watches him being taken away, she loses all bladder control and urinates profusely. This surprising image only a few minutes into the film leads us to believe that the picture may go for maximum shock, but, quite the contrary, the film is so placid it will likely be sleep inducing for those who don't like its purposely oblique storytelling.
With its strong sense of place and the importance it places on visual narration, the picture has the effect of a haunting trance. The only recent picture that comes close in tone to it is THREE SEASONS, which is slightly better.
After the African prelude, the story skips forward to Italy, where the reserved but persistent Shandurai works as a maid to finance her way through medical school. Working in a lavish 3-story house filled with expensive antiques and artwork, she is employed by a piano teacher, Mr. Kinsky, who inherited the house and its furnishings from his aunt. David Thewlis, best known for avant-garde work under director Mike Leigh's tutelage, plays Mr. Kinsky in a performance that keeps his emotions in complete check, save a couple of scenes.
Mr. Kinsky falls head over heels in love with his maid, which displeases her, albeit not quite enough to cause her to leave. As soon as she hears of his affection, she rebuffs him. He asks her what would change her mind. "You get my husband out of jail," she yells back at him. Since he didn't realize she was married, he recoils, and the movie seems to be over with before it ever really begins.
The rest of the story concerns the modest mystery of how he comes to help her. Shandurai, who is otherwise bright, seems to be the last one to solve this mystery. The audience can figure out what is happening immediately, perhaps even before it happens.
This is all of no consequence. One can either enjoy the movie for its music and images, or one can't enjoy it at all. The African folk melodies and songs are interspersed with lush piano sonatas. Every few minutes someone says something briefly, and then the music resumes. The camerawork and editing are other joys or distractions, depending on your inclination. Points are emphasized, not in words, but by jump cuts, fast zooms, and slow motion.
A peaceful and beautiful picture, it does have its flaws. Chief among these are the missed opportunities between Shandurai and Mr. Kinsky. One would expect the movie to burst with sexual tension, but, with a couple of exceptions, Bertolucci seems oblivious to the possibilities.
The other problem with the movie is its length. It would have made a perfect 30-minute short film, but, as a full-length motion picture, it feels stretched almost to the breaking point.
BESIEGED runs 1:30. The film is in English with some dialog in Italian with English subtitles. It is rated R for brief nudity and sexuality and would be fine for teenagers.
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