Before The Revolution

Bernardo Bertolucci was only 22 years-old when he completed this, his second feature film, a very admireable feat. Such youthful endeavours should be admired, especially in the early sixties as the trappings and conformity of the studio system were still lingering on, despite movements such as the French New Wave, throughout America and Europe.

But, is power in the hands of youth such a good thing? All of the blessings and pitfalls of youthful filmmaking are present in this film. The verve and passion of the filmmaker are here in abundance. Playing across cities and countryside, Bertolucci fills the film with intellectual stimulation and debate, bringing in such subjects as civil movement, political alignment and even intellectual debate itself. However, the film falls down in form and technique. The naivety of youth cannot really excuse Bertolucci. The story itself is a mess, the characters are paper cut outs and the general air of pretention is too overwhelming. Add to this some very questionable camerawork and editing and it becomes more and more apparent that this was a filmmaker still learning his trade.

Bertolucci has certainly made better since, but this is a very interesting piece worth studying for anyone interested in Bertolucci or European film movement.