Stealing Beauty (1996)

After her mother commits suicide, nineteen year old Lucy Harmon travels to Italy to have her picture painted. However, she has other reasons for wanting to go. She wants to renew her ... See full summary »

Director:

Bernardo Bertolucci

Writers:

Bernardo Bertolucci (story), Susan Minot

Stars:

Carlo Cecchi, Sinéad Cusack, Jeremy Irons

1 win & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Carlo Cecchi	...	Carlo Lisca
Sinéad Cusack	...	Diana (as Sinead Cusack)
Joseph Fiennes	...	Christopher
Jason Flemyng	...	Gregory
Anna Maria Gherardi	...	Chiarella Donati
Jeremy Irons	...	Alex
Jean Marais	...	M. Guillaume
Donal McCann	...	Ian
D.W. Moffett	...	Richard
Ignazio Oliva	...	Osvaldo Donati
Stefania Sandrelli	...	Noemi
Francesco Siciliano	...	Michele Lisca
Mary Jo Sorgani	...	Maria
Leonardo Treviglio	...	Lieutenant
Liv Tyler	...	Lucy Harmon

Storyline

After her mother commits suicide, nineteen year old Lucy Harmon travels to Italy to have her picture painted. However, she has other reasons for wanting to go. She wants to renew her acquaintance with Nicolo Donati, a young boy with whom she fell in love on her last visit four years ago. She also is trying tosolve the riddle left in a diary written by her dead mother, Sara.

---

Plot Keywords:

artist | italy | virginity | travel | playwright | 

---

Taglines:

The most beautiful place to be is in love.

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexuality, nudity, some drug use and language

Details

Official Sites:

Cecchi Gori Group

Country:

Italy France UK

Language:

English French German Spanish Italian

Release Date:

14 June 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dancing by Myself

Filming Locations:

Brolio, Castiglion Fiorentino, Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$103,028 (USA) (14 June 1996)

Gross:

£600,443 (UK) (13 September 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fiction Films, France 2 Cinéma, Jeremy Thomas Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The three poems we see Lucy (Liv Tyler) compose while in Italy are:

• 1. I have her secret deep within for years I've had to hide I've bought the clues And now I'm hope To bring the truth outside
• 2. I wait I wait so patiently I'm as quiet as a cup I hope you'll come and rattle me Quick! Come wake me up.
• 3. The dye is cast The dice are rolled I feel like shit you look like gold.

---

Goofs

When Lucy meets Richard at the pool, she puts her hand on the pool's edge twice.

---

Quotes

Lucy: Why are you crying?
Osvaldo Donati: Because I want to kiss you.

---

Connections

Referenced in One Step Beyond: The Making of 'Alien: Resurrection' (2003)

---

Soundtracks

"Rocket Boy"
Performed by Liz Phair
Written by Liz Phair, Jim Ellison
Courtesy of Matador Records/Atlantic Records

User Reviews

A master work by a master director. Excellent!

I am a Bertolucci fan, and this film is one of the reasons why. I watch it again and again and never get tired of it. Don't be fooled by the 'losing virginity' theme; this film is about life, and death, and everything that happens in between. It's about what you seek and what you're willing to give up to get it.

One of the best things about this film is that every character has a story, and an arc in the film, most of which is given by just one or two lines or shots in the film. For example, near the end of the film, Sinead Cusack's character slumps at the table after having taken an old friend to the hospital, probably for the last time. She says she misses England "and rain, and milk that goes off", and says that she's tired of looking after people. Then everyone starts coming in and asking about dinner, and she just gets up and opens the fridge. In less than a minute, we see into her life and character in a way that most films would take at least an act to explore. We even learn a lot about Lucy's mother (Lucy is played by a young Liv Tyler), even though she has died before the beginning of the film and never appears in it except in a photograph (also of Tyler).

There is not a flaw in any of the performances. Never do we feel that these are people acting. They just feel like people, interacting, and we always have a feeling of their life leading up to the moments we see them, and they are interesting lives.

The location itself is one of the characters, and it is beautifully shot, the colours saturated and rich. It feels like you can touch the stones, smell the air, feel the grass and flagstones beneath your bare feet. If you don't want to go to Tuscany after seeing this film, you are ill or on the wrong medication. The beauty that is being stolen, or that people want to steal, is not just the beauty of the young virgin on the hill, it is the beauty of life, of living, of learning, of looking back and finally giving it all up, knowing it cannot be stolen. I know that some people criticize Bertolucci for his aesthetic, for bringing the beauty out of every moment, even the horrible ones, and I say to those people that they live the life they choose.

Finally, there is the soundtrack, which runs from alt-pop to classical to everything in between and works perfectly. It illuminates Lucy's internal reality and is true to the music that a girl of her age would have been listening to at that time, and it also helps set the scene and smooth transitions between scenes.

This is a master work by a master director, and one of my favourite films of all time.