(some spoilers)
It's not a masterpiece but it certainly is good. Quite good, actually. The theme behind the film revolves around the idea of the relationship of a person to the world and the place love has in that relationship. The presentation of the idea was pretty much standard: it began at the dinner table directly following the character introduction portion of the film. The topic there was that, from the macro point of view that God may have of the world, it is beautiful and orderly regardless of how chaotic it may seem on the inside. The main characters proceed to live in a fantasy world where everything is beautiful and there main focus is cinema and sexuality. But that eventually breaks down. The story articulates that people cannot see things through the eyes of God and chaos, pain and loss will always be part of your life. Any attempt at concerning one's self solely with art and love is terminal and will end with a return to the confusion of reality. The character Matthew foreshadowed this idea in the beginning when his voice-over said, as he and his newfound friends strolled lakeside, that he never wanted that evening to end. The whole philosophy of the film is expressed predictably but very nicely and is packaged in an attractive box of beautiful editing and cinematography and succeeded in subtly, almost as a light aside, putting art on a divine pedestal. I think there may be important commentary channeled through the history presented that I did not pick up on because I didn't live through the events to understand the nuances. And that would only add to the depth of the film. Although I feel Bertolucci is purposely making his films racy for the sake of shock and his own amusement, it was a very enjoyable movie to see (not the raciness; the movie). 8/10.
It's not a masterpiece but it certainly is good. Quite good, actually. The theme behind the film revolves around the idea of the relationship of a person to the world and the place love has in that relationship. The presentation of the idea was pretty much standard: it began at the dinner table directly following the character introduction portion of the film. The topic there was that, from the macro point of view that God may have of the world, it is beautiful and orderly regardless of how chaotic it may seem on the inside. The main characters proceed to live in a fantasy world where everything is beautiful and there main focus is cinema and sexuality. But that eventually breaks down. The story articulates that people cannot see things through the eyes of God and chaos, pain and loss will always be part of your life. Any attempt at concerning one's self solely with art and love is terminal and will end with a return to the confusion of reality. The character Matthew foreshadowed this idea in the beginning when his voice-over said, as he and his newfound friends strolled lakeside, that he never wanted that evening to end. The whole philosophy of the film is expressed predictably but very nicely and is packaged in an attractive box of beautiful editing and cinematography and succeeded in subtly, almost as a light aside, putting art on a divine pedestal. I think there may be important commentary channeled through the history presented that I did not pick up on because I didn't live through the events to understand the nuances. And that would only add to the depth of the film. Although I feel Bertolucci is purposely making his films racy for the sake of shock and his own amusement, it was a very enjoyable movie to see (not the raciness; the movie). 8/10.