"Just watched Last Tango in Paris, a 1972 film by Bernardo Bertolucci starring Marlin Brando as a recently widowed American expatriot who makes an anonymous lover out of a playful young French girl (Maria Schneider) after his wife's suicide. In constructing an impersonal yet extremely animalistic, profane and even violent sexual relationship with the easily-frightened, childish girl, Brando captures her heart and body while losing himself in the process (if he wasn't lost already). This Italian film was extremely controversial when it was released, achieving an X rating in the US when it came out. It's easy to see why- the film breaches vulgar notions of sexual convention, and Brando's behavior and language are extremely vulgar and offensive in parts (i.e. the famous butter scene, for which Maria Schneider would be forever teased). Brando and Schneider have an incredible tension between them, which they communicate in lilting bilingual French and English, in endearing little accents (which they tease each other about) on the backdrop of an abandoned, old, beat-up apartment, making love on a mattress or up on the radiator. The film achieves an incredible mood, and the story plays out with great New Wave Cinema style cinematography, gorgeous panoramic scenery shots and long, sweeping cuts intact. Last Tango may not be everyone's cup of tea- certainly not romance light for the Hugh Grant crowd. But for fans of Brando and good film in general, and movie-viewers who don't mind getting a little freaky, it's definitely worth two hours of your time.   Share |      var addthis_config = {""data_track_clickback"":true};"
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