It's better not knowing anything

LAST TANGO IN PARIS (1972)

How far can man delve into his own mental diversions? Escapism is considered to be a common cure for the toils and banalities of daily life, but can escapism also be seen as a “drug” for curing the condition of being human? Karl Marx famously referred to religion as the “opium of the people,” and like religion, escapism is the product of an inverted world. This inverted world relies on illusory happiness to suppress feelings of angst and despair, thus encouraging a suspension of reality.

In Last Tango in Paris, Marlon Brando, who brilliantly portrays widower Paul, finds his “opium” in excessive sexual activity with bride-to-be Jeanne (Maria Schneider) after his wife commits suicide. One of the prerequisites for their sexual trysts is that neither of them can divulge any personal information – names included – during the course of their affair. Paul establishes this rule with the intention of fully veiling himself; not only from Jeanne, but from the life he has come to abhor. This arrangement goes swimmingly for a period, but Jeanne soon finds herself consumed by Paul's abstract reality and demands a bit of forthrightness from their affair, an affair that has inadvertently evolved into a profound relationship. Jeanne, of course, bites off more than she can chew and comes to learn that sometimes anonymity has its perks.

Bernardo Bertolucci coats Last Tango with the peculiar shades of gloom and obscurity that most aren’t accustomed to seeing in Paris-driven romances, achieving the conception of a dismal love story against an unlikely backdrop. Brando effortlessly adapts to this world; dropping playful lines in French like a native and delivering the performance of a lifetime. Schneider, whose subplot grew a bit drab in areas, adequately holds her own opposite the screen legend. By and large, the film’s explicit nature is indisputable, but does not serve as a centerpiece by any means. Ironically enough, with Last Tango, Bertolucci has crafted the most realistic account of a man’s escape from reality, butter included.

9/10