Senso
I guess Netflix has temporary licenses for certain movies and gets a bunch of them in a batch. This time, Buster Keaton films are (yet again?) being taken down, along with some other old classics and a few Hong Kong films. Look forward to some of them in the next days – perhaps?
But this was not the reason I watched “Senso”. I have seen various screenshots of the film before, and I thought it was absolutely disturbingly beautiful. I desire to wear Livia’s entire wardrobe more than I ever have in any other film (especially that white top, green skirt combination). If you google for screenshots of the film, you cannot get much more than a mere glimpse of its beauty. Something about Visconti’s costumes is just incredible. I don’t know where that luscious beauty is coming from, but it is one of the reasons why I watch his movies.
While “The Leopard” is long and has a somewhat complex main character, “Senso” is a story on a much more private level. Both stories are based on novels during the Risorgimento times, “The Leopard” features a bigger portrait of Italian society and how the main character struggles with its changes. Livia, however, is not much more than a lovesick woman, one might even be tempted to wonder how much she really was aware of the dire situation of her times. Certainly she had some political beliefs at first, but she threw them away ever since the first second she saw the guy. Impressive. In a very strange way, despite the romantic scenes and melodramatic music, I have not gotten the Anna-Karenina-feeling even for a single moment. For Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary and the likes, you strongly get this feeling that there is some sort of stronger force (that they call love) which draws them towards these men. They are weak but conscious of their actions. Livia is plain idiotic and the man she loves is the most rotten person I have ever seen on screen. It also doesn’t help that Visconti’s Livia is responsible for many other people’s deaths, making her much more irresponsible than other heroines have ever been.
In general, I would not necessarily say that “Senso” was a good film. It was extremely well made, but really only bearable if you are into beautiful sets and extremely melodramatic storylines. I cannot say that I recommend it.