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Besieged

R Released May 21, 1999 1h 34m Drama List
76% Tomatometer 49 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Mild-mannered composer Jason Kinsky (David Thewlis) hires Shandurai (Thandie Newton), a medical student and recent immigrant from Africa, to work as a part-time maid in his home. As the repressed maestro observes his intoxicating new employee, Shandurai reveals herself to be a free spirit with a captivating sadness. And, when Kinsky suddenly declares his undying love for her, she sends him on a dark journey into the depths of passion, jealousy and political intrigue.

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Besieged

Critics Reviews

View All (49) Critics Reviews
Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Rated: A- Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Derek Elley Variety Bertolucci and co-writer Clare Peploe seem intent on deconstructing the story's interesting elements at every turn, substituting woolliness for clarity, atmospherics for real emotion and an often condescending, armchair-liberal naivete for real political Dec 7, 2007 Full Review Time Out It's a film about the limits of art, about civilization at this moment of flux, and about a gentle connection between a man and a woman. Jan 26, 2006 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Made for Italian TV, this modestly scaled, intimate drama about the relationship between a British musician and his African housekeeper is well acted by Thandie Newton and David Thewlis. Rated: B Dec 4, 2010 Full Review Mark Halverson Sacramento News & Review Rated: 3/5 Aug 7, 2008 Full Review Sandra Contreras TV Guide Maddening on many fronts and strangely wordless, Bernardo Bertolucci's purported love story breaks no new ground. Rated: 2/4 Dec 7, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (105) audience reviews
LAZI S Absolute masterpiece. Every frame and every moment!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/01/24 Full Review Audience Member Not quite what I was expecting. I suppose what makes it alluring is the fact that it is "artsy." The characters do not speak much, not even to each other. You have to pay attention to things like a stare, a frown, the incessant piano playing in the background. Half the time I could not even follow what was happening. Worth seeing to some extent. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member A tad too stretched for my liking but done well in terms of cinematic technicalities... Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member About as surreal an experience any asylum-seeker could find, but not one of Bertolucci's best films which is slow and staid. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Dec 2010 (with Kaveh and Setareh) - This was a very good romantic movie and it got better and better as it progressed. The music is very good and integrates so well with the story. Also I couldn't be happier with the ending. The suspense is appropriate and I like the fact that there has been a careful choice to avoid lengthening the ending. I was a bit unhappy with English chosen as the main language and I also thought the beginning was a bit slow and made it easy to get distracted. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member In un vecchio appartamento di Roma, vive Mr. Kinski, un eccentrico pianista inglese. Shandurai, una ragazza africana che studia medicina all'Università, vive con lui e fa le pulizie in cambio di una stanza. L'uomo, che trascorre le sue giornate al pianoforte, dando lezioni di musica s'innamora della ragazza. La donna non ricambia i suoi sentimenti, anche perché ha un marito in prigione in Africa. Pian piano, Kinski si disfa di tutti gli oggetti d'arte e di antiquariato, finché Shandurai riceve una lettera dal marito in cui le comunica la sua imminente scarcerazione e che dopo la sua liberazione la raggiungerà a Roma. Pian piano la ragazza incomincerà a legarsi al suo datore di lavoro presa da tanta dedizione nei suoi confronti, fino alla notte prima dell'arrivo del marito, notte in cui il musicista inglese avrà il giusto premio per il suo goffo ma illimitato amore, il finale del film è aperto, si resta sospesi tra il ritorno di Shandurai col marito e la nascita dell'amore con mr Kinski, ma forse non conta il sogno di una notte. [it.wikipedia.org] Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Mild-mannered composer Jason Kinsky (David Thewlis) hires Shandurai (Thandie Newton), a medical student and recent immigrant from Africa, to work as a part-time maid in his home. As the repressed maestro observes his intoxicating new employee, Shandurai reveals herself to be a free spirit with a captivating sadness. And, when Kinsky suddenly declares his undying love for her, she sends him on a dark journey into the depths of passion, jealousy and political intrigue.
Director
Bernardo Bertolucci
Producer
Massimo Cortesi
Screenwriter
James Lasdun, Bernardo Bertolucci, Clare Peploe
Distributor
Fine Line Features
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 21, 1999, Wide
Release Date (DVD)
Dec 21, 1999
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.0M
Runtime
1h 34m
Sound Mix
Surround
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