Last Tango in Paris

The Sexual Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s reshaped the cultural landscape, and its echoes in cinema are often distilled into a handful of films that purportedly shattered taboos regarding onscreen sexuality. Titles such as *Deep Throat* (1972), with its infamous non-simulated sex scenes, became cultural shorthand for the era’s sexual experimentation, their notoriety cementing them in public memory. Yet, within mo…

*Last Tango in Paris* was released nearly half a century ago. The 1972 classic was nominated for a couple of Oscars, which is surprising for such a milquetoast film. The film was cutting edge for the time, no doubt. But the muddled message seemed a bit pretentious to me. Paul (Marlon Brando) is recovering from his wife's recent suicide. He knows she was cheating on him with another resident of the hotel that she own…