I've watched the movie without reading the novel. So, my impression is limited to the movie only. What many of the reviews miss, and what I observed is that at the heart of it, this movie is a one-sided love story. In modern cinema as well as modern society, love is often presented/confused as/with lust. Here, an otherwise lustful man finally learns a lesson in promiscuity but ends up falling in love with a heartless beautiful golddigger with no appreciation for his love. Antonio's mother explains this to Claudia's character in a confrontational scene. The patriarchal aspect of Sicilian society is a backdrop to this story about a man, finally in love but lacking in voice or expression. Love and lust are inversely proportional; thus, true love kills all lust. This can look like sexual impotence superficially. I know this from experience and I'm glad there is a movie that conveys this. It is as if Marcello's character from La Dolce Vita finally found love only to realise that demon's from his past are still chasing him.
Review of Bell' Antonio
