After having deservedly been showered with Oscar statues in 1988 for The Last Emperor, Bertolucci basically tries the same cinematic principle, with an adaptation of a celebrated novel. I have not read it, but judging from fans, it is a dense and highly psychological experience. Transforming that into another media format sounds like a mammoth task and not really something fitting for a director of world class cinematographic potential and interest in epic stories, as in The Last Emperor.
An american couple Kit [Debra Winger] and Port [John Malkovich] have decided to travel through northwestern Africa in an attempt to save their failing marriage. They are accompanied by a friend Tunner [Campbell Scott], who i suppose acts as a mediator and medium through which they can communicate, without having to do it directly. At the same time Kit and Tunner seem to have something going on the side, but Kit uses him more as an emotional tampon when frustrated with Port, rather than a potential lover, since Tunner seems to follow along anyway.
There are very clear undertones of sexual frustration. Port visits a local whore to get his relief, while Kit is sort of locked in with her halfbaked love affair with Tunner. Tunner is the proverbial beta-orbiter white knight hoping to get into the fold, when the alpha male is dead or ditched, yet unaware that Kit is only using him for temporary emotional relief. Kit and Ports communication is amputated mostly because Kit is not willing to open herself up emotionally. Port shows anger several times, over her small talk tricks, that feels passive aggressive to him.
They quickly get impatient wherever they end up in their directionless , day to day planning. The journey, becomes a symbol of the nature of their understanding of each other and the direction and purpose of the thinghey call their marriage. It is a fallacy in the first place to think that placing yourself on another piece of dirt is going to solve anything. It will instead become a sort of freerange servitude to running away from each other, without being able to do that same thing.
https://i.imgur.com/huiPA3J.jpgØ
Port catches an illness and slowly deteriorates, while Kit is confused about her remaining feelings for Port as he comes closer and closer to dying. Her emotions seem halfbaked, and when he finally dies, she quickly accepts her fate and soon after joins a caravan, with local people, protected by the caravan leader who clearly has sexual interest in her from the start.
Kit does her best to pretend to be uninterested, but the revalation of a rather handsome young arab in private, soon leads to sleeping together. Tunner has been left to his own devices now, as Kit follows her deepest and unfulfilled sexual desires with dark and handsome strangers. But her fantasy turns out to be just that and she barely escapes being assaulted by hordes of locals, as they discover she is not one of them, despite her attempts to blend in. She ends up in a hospital and is saved by authorities and ends her journey in the same city where they first started out after arriving in Africa.
The cinematography and the score is spectacular. I do feel a sense of deliberately trying to impress me with beautiful scenery and soothing music, rather than letting the landscape speak for itself and the score support the structure and story. This may be amplified by a lack of power in the story, that the two main characters are able to give us. A psychological story is hard to tell mostly relying on scenery. There are several creative shots that gently uses symbolism to tell us the state of their affairs, like the opening scene with the crane, showing the disconnectedness, but it can only go so far. The rest is up to the direction and the actors. And as much as I like the story and the cinematography, the actors cannot match the quality of the scenery.
Malkovich is something of an anomaly. He often seems sloppy or disconnected in his style. When he gets a really expressive role he can deliver, but the more gentle and psychological stuff, is not his strong side. He is, in my opinion, an overrated actor. For some reason he used to bag some real big roles like here, but then in other cases, low quality roles, like the bad guy in "Johnny English". Winger is also not really the best choice for this role. I guess the american market needed som big names on the bill, but she does not deliver sufficiently.
The scenery and cinematography is fantastic. You cannot put much of a finger on that part. There are a few glaring faults in the direction of the actors, like in the scene where Kit lies in a stoney graveyard and hugs herself, her voice stutters from the impact of her arms. An aware director would have retaken that that scene, but i suppose Bertolucci had his focus elsewhere. The directing of Ports farewell speech to Kit as he lies on his death bed is the worst part in the characterization. It is quite bad and emotionless.
The overall feeling I am left with is disappoinment. I want so much to like this movie and there are many things to like of course. But the main story of the psychological aspects of the couple are not handled nearly enough and the acting leaves a bit to be desired too. Coming right of the heel of Last Emperor, Bertolucci apparently tried hard to secure the plot and the epic scenery, rather than focusing on the intimate story. If the balance had been right and better actors used, this could have been a masterpiece. A small recommendation is in place though.
Rating :6/10
