Senso

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Marc C Deeply disturbing tragedy, the countess wears a veil of sorrow through...film in Italian Venice by the canal in the 50's appears nice Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/21/23 Full Review William L Senso has some wonderful production value, bright color, and a storyline that has more disillusionment than the vast majority of period romances. Valli's Countess Livia Serpieri is sexually and romantically unfulfilled, and throws herself without inhibition into the arms of Granger's Franz Maller, a young officer of a foreign military at war with her own, who woos her with honeyed words but ultimately only sees her as a source of wealth and influence. Their doomed affair is based on self-serving interests, neither is sympathetic, and each of them are quite animalistic and crude underneath their thin veneer of respectability. The film does well to present what is initially a rather conventional forbidden affair (the unbridled passion that stereotypically makes it into department store novels for bored housewives), and twisting it into something more macabre and dark, providing real (even exaggerated) consequence to their relationship (which ends up inadvertently resulting in the deaths of dozens of Italian soldiers). However, the development of the masochism associated with the pair (the feature that drives the plot and makes the film interesting) is actually pretty static - Maller's self-interest is evident from very early on, and many of the scenes between them feel padded for time. The visuals of the Italian countryside, period urban life, and warfare are all exceptionally engaging, though. (3.5/5) Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/21 Full Review Audience Member High-class melodrama is not my favourite thing (and I think neither was Visconti's) but this is quite the captivating work with beautiful photography. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review s r 1001 movies to see before you die. Something different than I have ever seen. It made me nostalgic for Austria and Italy. It shows the benefits and risks of love. Saw on HBO. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member It has some moments but Senso is ultimately devoid of likeability. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member An extravagant, sexy and ruthless portrayal of the self-destruction of the upper class, a theme repeatedly explored in Luchino Visconti's latter films. The incompatibility of Nationalism might, however, be less echoic to contemporary audience provided that Visconti's sympathy towards Socialism makes his other films more humanistic than this one. But still, Visconti's first attempt to transit to melodrama is affectionate and colourful. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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