1st watched 10/15/2005, 9 out of 10(Dir-Bernardo Bertolucci): Marvelous coming-of-age story about a young woman named Lucy(played by Liv Tyler), returning to a place where her deceased mother spent a lot of time and rejuvenates some of the relationships she had four years prior while her mother was still alive. Bernardo Bertolucci again masterfully weaves this story in his usual poetically-visual style of directing. You feel like he's given everything he has and more to tell this story. It's told mainly from the main character's point of view, which is amazing in itself, but is possibly why the screenplay was written by a woman, Susan Minot. The story begins as Lucy arrives at her destination with a diary of her late mother's in hand. She reads thru this as a means to get to know her mother better(we get the feeling that she was not as close to her as she would have liked to be). The trip is also a way to explore this by getting to know her from the people who were close to her. The trip was the gift from her father, whom she has never met, and thus begins another search for her. Her virginity is also a hot topic, but mostly from those around her. She had only kissed a boy five years prior when she visited before and is still infatuated with him and hopes he will be the one(if you know what I mean). Since her mother's death she has closed herself up in many ways, and this has been one of them(although she denies this). Every character in this story is full of life in one way or another and seems to know their place in it except Lucy. And that's basically what this story is about. Her self discovery and her finding her place in the history of her family. The Italian landscape provides breathtaking views that Bertolucci takes great advantage of, the modern music blended with classical makes for an awesome soundtrack, and of course the storytelling plays it's way to a wonderful ending that leaves you again wanting to know these people more and more. This is where Bertolucci succeeds so well. His characters are rich and full of stories like real people who are merely here to enjoy their life. What a concept and what a film from a masterful director!!
Review of Stealing Beauty
