Besieged

Rating:
Summary: Thandie Newton is a hidden talent
Review:

BESIEGED

Thandie Newton, David Thewlis, Claudio Santamaria, 1999

Synopsis

An young African woman attending medical school in Italy, works part time for an English pianist. She is astrayed from her husband, who was imprisoned back in her home country. Eventually, the Englishman falls in love with her and the two find themselves facing an impossible situation.

My Review

Zambian born actress Thandie Newton (Mission Impossible II) urinates, cries, drools, vomits, spits, sweats and lubricates her way to a unusual but standout role in this unique film. A haunting musical score takes you through an interesting, different type of film from acclaimed director Bernardo Bertolucci.

Rating:
Summary: A Return to Form
Review: Based on a short story with a simple, low-key situation, BESIEGED is Bernardo Bertolucci's best film in years, which admittedly doesn't say much. Although one of the most important filmmakers of his generation, Bertolucci hasn't had a fully realized success since THE LAST EMPEROR, and even that was a trifle over-weight. Here, shorn of the laborious effort to amaze, focused on filming effectively, rather than spectacularly, he re-discovers the playfulness and technical exuberance of his best work.

The film is full of inventive, virtuoso flourishes. Few directors can equal Bertolucci's ability to match camerawork with music, for example, whether it is Thewlis practicing the piano or Newton dancing to the radio, or syncopated shots of Roman street life. The editing is clipped, elliptical, shorn of the self-indulgent longeurs of his recent films, showing just enough for us to get the point and feel of a scene, then moving on. The performances are touching, the situation intriguing enough to hold our attention, the ending neatly understated.

It's all very deft, even witty. It just doesn't add up to much. Bertolucci at his best measures his characters against their political contexts. Sympathy is balanced against awareness of their social limits. Here, there's nothing much but a love story, and a deliberately muted one at that. It's probably no coincedence that the only deeply involving parts of BESIEGED are the sequences in Africa. The richly textured images of deep brown earth and skin against lush green forests and uniforms make Rome seem more than a little pallid. These scenes are felt and seen in a way that the main story can't approach, because they are the only parts that engage the director's critical intelligence.

Bertolucci's early work blotted out conventional notions of quality to establish its own standards. (The ending of THE CONFORMIST, for example, is a shambles, but it doesn't matter given the heights achieved by the rest of the film.) The problem is that he suffers from the prodigy's curse. Having stunned us in his twenties, what can he do in his fifties that will equal, much less surpass his early achievements? He hasn't found the answer in BESIEGED, but at least he has returned to form.

Rating:
Summary: A mesmerising account of romantic endangerment
Review: Bernardo Bertolucci (Academy Award winner for "Last Emperor") presents here a lovingly crafted, sensuous and meticulous drama of romantic conflict. Thandie Newton portrays an African refugee in Rome, a medical student and live-in cleaner for an eccentric English pianist (David Thwelis.) She rebuffs him when he makes overtures to her, only to discover that he selflessly devoted himself to bribing his way by pawning his possessions (including his treasured piano) so as to guarantee the freedom of her husband, imprisoned by her country's repressive regime. The serene tale unfolds with a quiet sensitivity to its conclusion. The understatement of the treatment, as opposed to the melodrama of mainstream films dealing with such issues, is nothing short of masterful. The uses of silence, visual metaphor and piano solos, besides hinting at the psychological inner worlds of the characters, set the pace of the film: there is no preaching, but only suggestion. This is not a film for a mass audience, who may regard it as heavygoing, but a literary work of the Henry James stamp seamlessly transposed into film. The minimal dialogue invites the criticism that the director may have no ear for the language, but the terse, static exchanges have an almost monumental power. The photography is outstandingly atmospheric and the performances are first-rate.

Rating:
Summary: A mesmerising account of romantic endangerment
Review: Bernardo Bertolucci (Academy Award winner for "Last Emperor") presents here a lovingly crafted, sensuous and meticulous drama of romantic conflict. Thandie Newton portrays an African refugee in Rome, a medical student and live-in cleaner for an eccentric English pianist (David Thwelis.) She rebuffs him when he makes overtures to her, only to discover that he selflessly devoted himself to bribing his way by pawning his possessions (including his treasured piano) so as to guarantee the freedom of her husband, imprisoned by her country's repressive regime. The serene tale unfolds with a quiet sensitivity to its conclusion. The understatement of the treatment, as opposed to the melodrama of mainstream films dealing with such issues, is nothing short of masterful. The uses of silence, visual metaphor and piano solos, besides hinting at the psychological inner worlds of the characters, set the pace of the film: there is no preaching, but only suggestion. This is not a film for a mass audience, who may regard it as heavygoing, but a literary work of the Henry James stamp seamlessly transposed into film. The minimal dialogue invites the criticism that the director may have no ear for the language, but the terse, static exchanges have an almost monumental power. The photography is outstandingly atmospheric and the performances are first-rate.

Rating:
Summary: Subtle, Beautiful, Perfect
Review: Bernardo Bertolucci has crafted a delicate masterpiece that ranks up there as one of his very best. The first half of the film passes nearly wordless, while the screen fills up with beautiful images that evoke Fellini. This is the story of Shandurai (Newton) an African housekeeping in Rome for Mr. Kinsky (Thewlis), the man who can't help falling in love with her. The problem is that Shandurai's husband is a political prisoner back in Africa. The ending is perfect.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful and it's Italian
Review: Bertolucci has done a wonderful job of telling a story visually and combining music with it in a way that is compelling and unique. The cimematography and editing is top notch and use of color just what one would want to find in a good film. It is rather "Italian" in how the story is realized and that can be both a good and a bad thing, depending upon one's taste. I do wish the lovely Thandie Newton had practiced throwing up in a mirror first or that Mr. Bertolucci had simply re-thought that part.

Still, this is a remarkable movie and well worth having in my collection.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Movie
Review: Besieged is a good movie. It shows the length of what some people will do for their loves. The English paino player sells most of his possessions, including his paino for his love, an African medical student. He does this to reunite her with her husband. The movie doesn't have much dialogue but it doesn't need it. It has an impact without it. The only flaw in the movie is the ending. the ending was a let down but the movie is still good. Thandie Newton did a wonderful. I recommend this movie to people who don't mind the lack of dialogue.

Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable movie
Review: Besieged is a movie worth watching. It is a movie that tells of what some people will do for the person they love. This movie is well acted and Thandie Newton shines in her role. I highly recommend this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Engaging Performances by Newton and Thewlis
Review: During the first twenty minutes or so of "Besieged," directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, there is virtually no dialogue, at least nothing even remotely conversational; and yet the first half hour of the film is almost hypnotically riveting, and by that point you already know more about the two main characters than if they'd had pages worth of words to say. And it's all done with the subtle, controlled emoting of the actors, guided by a director with a keen eye for detail, who knows exactly what he wants, how to get it and how to present it.

This emotionally involving film stars Thandie Newton as Shandurai, a young woman forced to leave South Africa for Rome after her husband, a school teacher, is arrested by the Military Police, then summarily held in prison-- and without a trial-- indefinitely (His crime is never precisely indicated, though it is implied during a classroom scene at the very beginning of the film). In Rome, Shandurai attends medical school, while supporting herself by working as a housekeeper for a man named Mr. Kinsky (David Thewlis), a reclusive pianist, apparently fairly well-to-do, who gives piano lessons to children in his home.

Early on in the film it is evident that Mr. Kinsky looks upon Shandurai as something more than merely a housekeeper; he is obviously quite taken with her. The moral implications of the situation are readily apparent, of course, as is the position in which it will predictably place Shandurai at some point in the near future. There is little doubt as to the direction the story is taking; the question that remains, however, is how Shandurai will deal with her impending dilemma.

The story becomes even more engaging as matters are pressed and circumstances develop which make Shandurai's conundrum even more of a moral miasma. Bertolucci draws his audience in by creating a situation so emotionally complex that at times it fairly resonates on the screen. And rather than allowing it to become simply a test of love and loyalty, he takes it much deeper-- so that the real impact of the film stems from the respective stances taken by Shandurai and Mr. Kinsky, as they strive to resolve their personal feelings while attempting to satisfactorily breach this seemingly insurmountable situation. Bertolucci draws a delicate line on which he balances the emotions, actions and reactions of his characters, which pays off handsomely in the end.

The overall success of the film, however, is predicated upon on thing-- that being the performances of Newton and Thewlis; and both deliver, unequivocally. Newton's role is especially challenging, as she has to convey so much through her emotions alone. Her gestures, expressions and mannerisms are her words; and the slightest alteration of any of these-- the slightest arch of an eyebrow, a shifting of the eyes at a particular moment or a barely discernible movement of her lips-- speaks volumes. And for this to be effective, it had to come from a place deep within; mere surface theatrics or any hint of pretentiousness at any time would have dispelled the believability of the character at once-- and Newton not only prevails, but does so overwhelmingly. It's an extremely well realized portrayal of a woman in conflict, facing one of the greatest trials of her life.

Thewlis, as well, gives a resoundingly sympathetic performance as Mr. Kinsky, that would have to be ranked among the best work he's ever done. As with Newton's role, he must convey so much physically, and he does-- turning in a very sensitive, well defined performance through which he employs just the right amount of reserve and restraint as befits the character he is creating. It's an affecting, honest portrayal that makes Mr. Kinsky very real and believable.

The supporting cast includes Claudio Santamaria, John C. Ojwang, Massimo De Rossi, Cyril Nri, Paul Osul and Veronica Lazar. Artistically rendered and subtle in nuance, "Besieged" explores the parameters of love and measures the limits of the boundaries expressed by the heart. An insightful treatise on human nature, it removes one emotional layer after another, right up to the very end-- which is a moment of truth nothing less than sublime. And one that will keep this film in your memory long after the screen has gone dark.

Rating:
Summary: The Benevolent Master
Review: I could not help but to watch this film with all of my African American female sensibilities. Despite the proficient acting, cinematography and directing, I found the content highly offensive and trite. Mr. Kinksy claimed to love Shanduri and was willing to do anything to possess her affections. He was put off to find out that Shanduri was married, but not deterred. Shanduri gave him what she believed was an unattainable challenge to have her husband, who was arrested for speaking out against the government, freed from an African prison. I recognize that it is possible for a servant to fall in love with her employer, however I know that it is extremely rare. (Ask any black woman who's cleaned a white person's house, 'how much love do you have for your boss.' The relationship between Shanduri and Mr. Kinksy was one of abuse of power and emotional manipulation. During the 'relationship' that I watched develop, not once did Shanduri refer to her employer by his first name. Clearly indicating an uneven balance of power and control...not much different from a slave owner offering to free his children born to his African concubine. So, Mr. Kinksy gave up some of his prized possessions; it was European influence that created the climate that allowed Shanduri's husband to be detained indefinitely. Though I am one among several with a different review about the film, I have no reason to forget the long history of abuse past and present that women of color experienced at the hands of white people, especially white men. To see such a film is an insult and another example of how Europeans do not understand the masses of African Americans.