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.

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Plot Keywords:

artist | italy | virginity | travel | playwright | 

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Taglines:

The most beautiful place to be is in love.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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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.

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

Miranda: I decided I had to get rid of it one summer before school. I ended up doing it with the same guy my best friend did it with. He was the local... deflowerer...
Christopher: I remember that guy! Oh Miranda, he was repulsive!

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

"My Baby Just Cares For Me"
Performed by Nina Simone
Written by Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn
Courtesy of Verve Records

User Reviews

America is not ready

When this filmed first came on the scene, there was a lot of critics that downed the intensity of this film... of course their favorite words were pseudoartistic crap. America is not ready for this film. Look at what we embrace in our films: blood, sex, nudity, shock value. America is not ready for a film that sees the attraction towards a 19 year-old as a natural thing. American normalcy sees this as wrong, deceitful, and impure. Bertolucci did not make a film, he reflected humanity through a camera. This film dives into our own psyche seeking the desires to be pure and innocent. Only America would see this as a piece of psycho sexual fantasy into our own pedophiliac desires. Watch it people, there's a substance that you're not used to seeing in everyday flicks.