The Spider's Stratagem

1970

1h 40m

Mystery & Thriller

List

100%

Tomatometer

13 Reviews

79%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

In Italy, Athos Magnani (Giulio Brogi) is the son of an anti-fascist hero who was assassinated three decades earlier. When the dead man's former mistress (Alida Valli) calls him back to his father's hometown, Athos has a number of perplexing, surreal encounters with her and the men who were his father's allies long ago. But were they really allies? As he tries to unravel the mystery of his father's murder, the son is forced to reckon with the nature of compromised ideals.

Read More

Read Less

Prime Video

Rent The Spider's Stratagem on Prime Video, or buy it on Prime Video.

Penelope Houston

Sight & Sound

Bertolucci has a gift for surrounding a claustrophobic theme with a sense of light and space.

Jul 7, 2018

Full Review

Jay Cocks

TIME Magazine

[A] mesmeric film.

Aug 29, 2014

Full Review

David Parkinson

Empire Magazine

Bertolucci's superb dramatic thriller packs a powerful punch.

Rated: 5/5

Aug 29, 2014

Full Review

R.H. Gardner

Baltimore Sun

It's an interesting question and, despite the trick ending and other typical Bertolucci touches, it makes a generally engrossing film.

Jun 14, 2022

Full Review

Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

Pointedly analytical and lushly abstruse

Nov 10, 2013

Full Review

TV Guide

Aesthetically, the film finds Bertolucci in a transitory mode, caught between his early Godard-influenced abstraction and his later style of lush, operatic camera movements and theatrical use of color and music.

Rated: 3.5/4

Dec 7, 2007

Full Review

Read all reviews

StephenPaul C

The greatest 01 hour: and 40 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/05/23

Full Review

William L

In many investigative thrillers, the consequences for asking questions are dire. There are always threats of repercussions, implied or explicit. Perhaps someone must decide between their own future or the well-being of their family, vs. pursuing the just choice. In contrast, The Spider's Stratagem, in its first hint of the level of conflict that it will incorporate, includes a scene where the truth-seeking protagonist (seeking to uncover the truth of the assassination of his patriot father years earlier) is just sort of aggressively guided down a road on his bike. That's because while the film is technically a mystery focused around the unraveling of a conspiracy, the real meat is more philosophical; the nature of crafting a lie for the greater good compared to being genuine and working toward a future based on solid foundations. Bertolucci's particular flair is particularly prominent in creating a twist that goes beyond the relatively straightoforward premise, in the dreamlike atmosphere. The town of Tara has developed an almost fanatical devotion to a hero whose bravery is based on a lie, in a way that is clearly unhealthy; Valli's Draifa (the mistress of the martyred anti-Fascist) has adopted a nearly Miss Havisham-esque persona, living on in fantastical memory of her relationship with a long-gone lover, with the exception that their relationship had actually been consumated. In a slow-paced town of deterioration and decay, a shining memory is as much a prison for the town as it is a self-pleasuring experience. With that in mind, revealing the truth would be not so much about a painful realization, it would be as if someone offered evidence that Christ was not divine while standing in a monastery, draining the lifeblood of those that have built their identities around a fundamental truth. Live a poisoned lie, or suffer devastation? There are some neat scenes that blend time periods without requiring any sort of effects, just clever direction. The muted tone is certainly a bit jarring for the genre, requiring some adjustment in order to enjoy, but with enough time to settle in defies expectations and forms a solid if unorthodox and low-key 'thriller'. (3.5/5)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/14/21

Full Review

s r

1001 movies to see before you die. I could've passed on this one. Sure, it was interesting, but pointless. It did create a good atmosphere, but no one I need to see again. It was on Vimeo.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Hard to find, kind of. Somebody had it on youtube or something but it was grainy, so I don't feel like I got the benefit of this "WUNDERBAR" cinematography the critics go on about.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

another '70's pic with a weird title

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

eric b

Decades later, Athos Magnani (Giulio Brogi) returns to the small town where his same-named father -- an anti-fascist hero -- was assassinated in 1936 while watching an opera. The conspirators were never caught. Brogi also portrays the father in flashbacks. A red neckerchief distinguishes the latter, to avoid confusion. The young Magnani hopes to solve the murder, but the story doesn't go much further than this. The plot doesn't have enough twists and clues to be called a "whodunnit" and, surprisingly, there isn't much of a romance element either. Magnani spends most of his time just walking in contemplation and trading words with his father's ex-mistress (Alida Valli) and three closest friends (they are now elderly but still intimidating). Bernardo Bertolucci directed "The Spider's Stratagem" the same year as his masterpiece "The Conformist," but this film is nowhere near as good. It does have rustic Italian settings and lots of slow, lateral tracking shots. What it doesn't have is a cast with any screen charisma. The script is adapted from a Jorge Luis Borges short story, "Theme of the Traitor and the Hero."

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Bernardo Bertolucci

Director

Giulio Brogi

Athos Magnani

Alida Valli

Draifa

Tino Scotti

Costa

Pippo Campanini

Gaibazzi

Franco Giovanelli

Rasori

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

86%

64%

Murder by Decree

79%

63%

Who'll Stop the Rain?

80%

79%

Death on the Nile

88%

81%

Blow Out

93%

62%

Family Plot

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

In Italy, Athos Magnani (Giulio Brogi) is the son of an anti-fascist hero who was assassinated three decades earlier. When the dead man's former mistress (Alida Valli) calls him back to his father's hometown, Athos has a number of perplexing, surreal encounters with her and the men who were his father's allies long ago. But were they really allies? As he tries to unravel the mystery of his father's murder, the son is forced to reckon with the nature of compromised ideals.

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Screenwriter: Bernardo Bertolucci, Eduardo de Gregorio, Marilu Parolini
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Italian
Runtime: 1h 40m

Most Popular at Home Now