Word: stratagems
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...from Dostoevsky's story, using an actor whose face reveals nothing and attempting a political statement contrary to his romantic nature. This has been a major problem in Bertolucci's other adaptations. Before the Revolution (1963) covered over Stendahl's psychological crystallization with broadbrush, romantic camerawork. The Spider's Stratagem (1969) lengthened a tightly constructed story by Borges to the breaking point. These films, in varying degree, destroyed what was good in their sources without adding anything else. Partner, in particular, which obliterates its source with such effectiveness--and to such little artistic effect--contrasts strongly with The Conformist...
LAST TANGO IN PARIS and THE SPIDER'S STRATAGEM. One overpraised but still important, the other too little seen. Together they establish Bernardo Bertolucci as a significant cinematic force...
...Spider's Stratagem, for example, has a serene mystery to it -- perhaps emanating from the film's roots in a Borges story -- that will not allow deep penetration into the viewers' lives. The film explores psychological questions, but does so mainly to raise broader questions about heroism and martyrdom and the impact of truth on history...
CENTRAL II. Spider's Stratagem 6:15, 10, Before the Revolution 8, wknd...
HARVARD SQUARE CINEMA. Spider's Stratagem 2:50, 6:25, 9:55. Before the Revolution...