Perhaps because this film is not very high budgeted, it has limited appeal. Or perhaps because as good as Marcello Mastroianni is, he's not the focus of the conflict although he's definitely the lead. It's a rather messy script which has Mastroianni supporting to the big conflict, aiding his friend Georges Géret in court who is accused of beating his girlfriend, eventually in court for murder himself, supposedly killing someone who he thought was out to kill Géret.
It takes going from point A to point C to resolve points B and D, with Mastroianni grieving for his mother inward yet refusing to share that grief with those who love or care about him. His attorney turns out to be a religious zealot, taking the plot further into weird twists, and after a while (with his attorney referring to him as Mr. Antichrist), it begins to go down uncomfortable paths that may aggravate the viewer.
As good as Mastroianni is (as well as female lead Anna Karina), the film is weekend by it's messy script and unclear direction even though there are some pretty locales and unique visuals. This is one of those foreign films that makes me not really want to see many of them, because they are trying to be too literal and end up being pretentious as a result. I've seen other Visconti films that were more direct, and those ones are the classics while this one is barely known. I found it troubling almost from the beginning so I can't give it a good recommendation.
It takes going from point A to point C to resolve points B and D, with Mastroianni grieving for his mother inward yet refusing to share that grief with those who love or care about him. His attorney turns out to be a religious zealot, taking the plot further into weird twists, and after a while (with his attorney referring to him as Mr. Antichrist), it begins to go down uncomfortable paths that may aggravate the viewer.
As good as Mastroianni is (as well as female lead Anna Karina), the film is weekend by it's messy script and unclear direction even though there are some pretty locales and unique visuals. This is one of those foreign films that makes me not really want to see many of them, because they are trying to be too literal and end up being pretentious as a result. I've seen other Visconti films that were more direct, and those ones are the classics while this one is barely known. I found it troubling almost from the beginning so I can't give it a good recommendation.