Silly Thinking

Welcome to Movielog with Jim Farris.

Today's movie: Bernardo Bertolucci's NC-17 rated "The Dreamers".

Delightful, messy, comedy- drama from acclaimed director Bernardo Bertolucci. The story of a young California student, in Paris in 1968, who falls in love with free thinking brother and sister, is all over the place. Exploring the youth culture, 60’s politics, film theory, and sex, this movie seems more like a mainstream X rated movie from the period than a recreation.

Not particularly all a good thing, most of those movies were a mess (“Last Of The Mobile Hot Shots”,” The Strawberry Statement” anyone?) but the freewheeling style suits this material and the likeability of the three unknown stars, Michael Pitt, Eva Green, and Lous Garrell wins you over.

I have to admit that the fact that these characters are film buff’s (the great devise Bertolucci creates to juxtapose classic film clips to real (or reel) life is wonderful and gave me goose pimples)and that the film deals with government censorship of the French Cinematique is a big plus, it also details how that protest opened the door to the massive protests that brought France to a standstill in ’68. Very few films cover that material, and fewer still do it so straight forwardly.

The movie moves with a bit of unease from the explicit sexual antics of the three (it’s rated NC-17) to the political movement on the streets, but Bertolucci is a true film artist and he makes this work where few could, the dynamic camera movement, editing, and meticulous production values all combine to bring you to these people, and this time, beautifully.

One note: I have looked at other reviews of this film and some critic’s (one in a local left of center weekly paper) could not get by the explicit sexual scenes and seemed more than vaguely uncomfortable with shots of pubic hair. I found the straight ahead sexual scenes refreshing and appropriate to this story.

There was a time when blunt sexual content had a place in mainstream films, it’s why the MPAA created the movie rating system. But with most movies aimed at children and pre-teens, and right wing fanatics not allowing theatres to advertise an NC 17 (formerly X) film if they get them, the marketplace will not allow this kind of movie making to find an audience.

You can graphically kill hundreds in American cinema, but show tits or a dick, and the “art police” have a cow. It’s a shame that this kind of censorship stifles the artistic freedom so many fought for forty years ago, but it’s a hopeful sign when a magnificent movie maker does it anyway and a major studio (Fox, for Christ sake) releases it.