Must See Movie...

Good concept, poorly executed.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Young Parisian woman, cast by her innocuous fiancé in a film he's making about love, has an intermittent clandestine affair with a 45-year-old American widower whom she met when they both went to check out an empty apartment; he initiates the sexual relationship with her on the basis they keep it anonymous--but truths are eventually revealed. Although prurient viewers have since picked up on the film's more sensational aspects, "Tango" is a serious movie about sex and subservience that features one of Marlon Brando's finest performances. Angry and raw and belligerent, Brando's Paul is grieving the suicide of his wife while lashing out at the world. His sexual and psychological dominance over life-loving Maria Schneider can be interpreted in many different ways and, indeed, the picture has been dissected and debated by moviegoers since its debut (director Bernardo Bertolucci has even stirred up some recent controversy by saying he may have violated 19-year-old Schneider's trust while filming). Not an easy picture to like--but almost impossible to dismiss--the film has been overrated by some yet is occasionally powerful and sensual, and beautifully photographed in hazy afternoon colors by Vittorio Storaro. **1/2 from ****

For a man, what could be more personally satisfying than overpowering his perfect object of desire solely by his sexual prowess? That's the scenario in Bertolucci's self-fulfilling, exotic and provocative LAST TANGO IN Paris, telling based on his own sexual fantasies, a privilege which has been a substantial stimulus to encourage generations of youngsters to become a filmmaker, but only those very few in the top tier can achieve that gratification with momentum and flourishes, even Bertolucci couldn't get away with lambaste and the film has been perpetually on the list of films that shock the world!Jeanne (Schneider), a 20-year-old parisienne, comes across a near-rape sexual intercourse with a middle-aged American expatriate Paul (Brando) in an empty apartment which is available for rent. Downright to her own volition, she comes back to the apartment (now rented by Paul) again and again, to partake in the act of love, and even unabashedly falls in love with him, that's the utmost elixir to boost a man's ego (Bertolucci does know how to patronizing heterosexual males). Paul forbids themselves from revealing each other's names, and claims that he doesn't want to know any concrete information about her, and vice versa. "Everything outside this apartment means nothing to us" So, who is Paul outside that apartment?We see a grief-ridden man, wanders around in bereavement after his wife committed suicide, which hits him like a severe jolt, therefore, he is in the limbo of mourning, questioning, self- doubting and resentment, he and her wife run a low-rent hotel in Paris, they had been married for 5 years, and in the end of the day, he has to face the music that he has never been able to understand her, he can even host a pleasant conversation on the face value with her wife's lover Marcel (a down-to-earth Girotti and still gets his appeal in his 50s), a lodger in their hotel. So, meaningless no-strings-attached sex becomes his go-to option to assuage his discombobulated state, once Jeanne is hooked. who is so naively impressionable and totally loses herself in the mysterious halo of "it's beautiful without knowing anything", the sex becomes an addiction, a ritual gratifies the needs of both. Out of the apartment, Jeanne has a filmmaker boyfriend Tom (a customarily neurotic Léaud), who is shooting a documentary about her, and will propose to her later in the film.Is actress Maria Schneider being exploited in her career-making/typecasting role? Who admittedly confessed her ill-treated experience of shooting this film. Let's take a step back from a feminist POV, and perceive the film in a plain angle of egalitarianism, the lascivious fetish of Schneider's sultry body presented in constant nakedness has never been balanced out by Brando's (supposedly) unsightly figure in all his frankness (maybe, Bertolucci simply cannot pay the sum to convince Brando to reveal some of his sagging skin), not to mention the unsolicited sodomy scene (which has forever ruined butter for me), Schneider was completely taken by surprise, on that front, Bertolucci is exploitative, sinister, sadistic and misogynist.However, simply disregarding all the behind-the-camera trivia (which is not an easy task and sometimes involuntarily infuses some preconceived sentiment into one's subjective judgement), and taking a forensic look into the film per se, in its claustrophobic, ill-lit interior shots, what Bertolucci achieves with the sinuously fluid movement of his camera is something masterfully seductive, voyeuristic, intimate and thought-provoking, two total strangers, unburdened from formality and luxuriate in their primal libido and form a rather wholesome rapport devoid of any negativity associated with reality - that's everyone's unsaid fantasy, but in sheer perception, Bertolucci also shows that such purity can be fragilely sullied by the world outside, literally outside that apartment, where, in the third act, when Paul moves out, and then flippantly courts Jeanne on the street, in the tango bar, how foolish he is when he becomes love-struck, the magical potion doesn't work in broad daylight, where Jeanne will ultimately realise Paul is no more than another nettlesome suitor, only much older, and at her age, he is far from a premium worth her time and effort while the world is her oyster, something menacing looms in the offing in the hard-pressed eagerness, there will be no happy ending out of it. It serves as a poignant elegy for these out-of- depth sad sacks like him, and a wake-up call for those young creatures like her.Brando sinks in his role exceedingly in conveying Paul's frame-of-mind, initially in his unapologetic-ally threatening and unfathomable mode, remarkably eases into his varied facets: cantankerous mood-swing, tender reminiscence and vulnerability, notably during his show- stopping monologue in front of his flowers-adorned deceased wife, only before long, he will make a fool of himself. Schneider instills a more unaffected, also cruder impression with a susceptible inclination for servitude either confronted by masculinity or whetted by novelty, a common mistake for starters.As its graphic depiction of (perverse) sex act loses its taboo in a more liberal present world, Bertolucci's controversial pièce de résistance might get a more impartial reappraisal by focusing on its accumulative evocation of inexplicable human feelings rather than on its politically incorrect modus operandi borne out of some bold but insensitive considerations, or perhaps, it is just my wishful thinking, plus notoriety always sells the tickets.

Regarded merely as pornography for many and is most noted for two infamous sex scenes (which in all honesty are tame by today's standards). Last Tango in Paris sets out for much more it's an interesting take on loneliness and depression and living in personal solitude. It's an extremely emotional film, therefore I think it's up to the viewer what you take out of it. I personally only checked it out because of its reputation but I found it to be pretty disappointing on the whole.A young Parisian women (Schneider) meets a middle aged American businessman (Brando) who demands their clandestine relationship to be based only on sex.It has been said that Brando gives a powerhouse performance and he certainly gives his all but certainly in the latter half of the film just ends up playing himself. His character is dislike-able (As most of the characters are) if not at times detestable with dialog so crass it's hard to take serious. Although there are a couple of moments in his performance that garner sympathy (most notable a really good scene where Paul lets all his frustration and anger out while saying goodbye to his estranged wife for the last time) which is true testament to his ability.The film seems to drag on in some places filled with uninteresting subplots Like Jeanne's (Schneider) outside life filled with her pretentious wannabe filmmaker lover which is rather dull and at times tedious.Last Tango didn't necessarily do it for me but I can't say it was without merit, an Art-house picture interesting because of its historical notoriety but its overlong and at times dull in places.

Last Tango In Paris could probably be considered as Marlon Brando's last great film in a leading role in his storied acting career before he just started accepting supporting roles in his subsequent movies.In Bernardo Bertolucci's art-house classic,Marlon delivers one of his best performances that would be comparable to that of Vito Corleone in The Godfather as a plays Paul,a depressed American who came to Paris after his estranged wife committed suicide.He meets a young French woman named Jeanne,portrayed by Maria Schneider and they both enter into a sadomasochistic and carnal sexual relationship with her.They neither share personal information with each other.But things just get messy and complicated as both want to get more from their relationship which results in a peculiar conclusion in the end.This was definitely a controversial film when it was first released theatrically as it contains sex scenes and emotional portrayal that were considered raw and graphic.But nevertheless,it contains cinematic poetry that one would still appreciate at present while this review is being written.As I have said previously,Marlon provides a terrific performance as a sexually passionate and pained individual.As a whole,the movie also contains great ideas about sex and eroticism.