UMBERTO D FILMS. 4 EDITIoN the Lady Wakasa introduces him to the world of the aesthetic. She L'ULTIMO TANGO A PARIGI shows him fragile and exquisite vessels that she presents, and he accepts, as his creations, but that are totally unlike the crude, See THE LAST TANGo IN Paris functional wares we have seen him almost brutally shape earlier. The complexity of response that this whole central segment evokes sufficient in itself to call into question the reduction of the film to a single clear-cut statement. The Lady Wakasa is both evil spirit and ULYSSES GAZE pathetic, victimized woman; the world of the aesthetic(which is also See TO VLEMMA TOU ODYSSEA the world of the erotic)has a fascination and authentic beauty that nake it far from easily dismissible. That alluring world, however, has three negative connotations. First, it is presented as a possible option only if one turns one's back on reality. It is a world of fantasy and UMBERTO D illusion where the suffering of human beings in a material world of oppression, cruelty, greed, and human exploitation cannot be permit- ted to intrude. ( One of the most expressive cuts in the history of the Italy, 1952 cinema is that from the exquisite scene of love-making on the cultivated lawn beside the lake to Miyagi, fearfully peering out from Director: Vittorio De Sica a society created by men. ) Second, Wakasa herself is not presented as production: Rizzoli -De Sica-Amato and Dear films. black and an autonomous character, even in her appreciation of beauty. Every- white. 35mm: running time. 90 minutes. some sources state 80 ing she knows, her father had taught her. Her father (long since minutes. Filmed 1951 in Cinecitta studios, and in and around Rom dead) appears in the film as a hideous, emaciated skull-like mask Cost: about 140 million lire. Released 1952 peaking in a disturbingly strange subterranean voice. The aestheti be is cl taste"is what women are taught by men. Finally, the father is linked Director of production: Nino Misiano: screenplay: Cesare Zavattini to war, damnation, and imperialism. Wakasa's father had the misfor- tune to lose, and have his clan exterminated but the film makes clear Aldo): editor: Eraldo di roma: sound engineer: Ennio Sensi that he would have inflicted precisely the same fate on his enemies, production designer: Virgilio Marchi; music: Alessandro Cigognini had the outcome been reversed The overall effect of the film is to suggest, not that the aesthetic is Cast: Carlo Battisti (Umberto); Maria-Pia Casilio(Maria): Lina invalid in itself, but that it cannot validly exist in this world. (The Inari(Landlord); Alberto Albani Ba films contemporary relevance is by no means compromised by its (Sister at the hospital); Memo Carotenuto(Voice of light for Umberto setting in the sixteenth century. ) The pot Genjuro is making at the end in the hospital); Ileana Simova( Surprised woman in the bedroom f the film, under Miyagi's spiritual supervision, is significantly plus many non-professional actors different from the two previous kinds of work: it is made with loving care, but also the product of experience; work of art yet made to Awards: New York Film Critics Award, Best Foreign Film(shared be used by Genjuro's peers rather than admired by a cultivated elite. with Diabolique), 1955 The great beauty of the film is of an order altogether different from the aestheticism of the Wakasa world. Mizoguchi never aestheticizes pain and suffering (in the manner of, say, David Lean in Dr. Zhivago). The extraordinary sequence-shot showing the mortal wounding of Publications Miyagi is a case in point: the aesthetic strategies(long take, distance, complex camera movement, depth of field showing simultaneous Script actions in foreground and background) serve to sustain the character stic Mizoguchian tension between involvement and contemplation, Zavattini. Cesare, and Vittorio De Sica. Umberto D Milan. 1953 but do not in any way mitigate the horror of the scene. published in"Umberto D Issue of Avant-Scene du Cinema If on one level Ugetsu tends to reinforce traditional myths of (Paris), 15 April 1980. yoman, on another it remains true to the radical spirit of Mizoguchi's earlier Marxist-feminist principles. The actions of both Genjuro and Tobei are motivated by the values forced upon them by patriarchal Books. capitalism. They both seek success( Genjuro through the acquisition of wealth, Tobei through the prestige of becoming a Samurai)in order Castello,G. C, l Cinema Neorealistico italiano, Turin, 1956 to impress their wives, neither of whom shows the smallest interest in Rondi, Brunello, II Neorealismo italiano, Parma, 1956. such ambitions. The film is a systematic critique of the kind of male Hawald, Patrice, Le Neo-realisme italien et ses createurs, Paris, 1959 egoism(expressing itself in greed and violence and the destruction of Agel, Henri. Vittorio De Sica, 2nd edition, Paris, 1964. human relationships, always at the expense of women) that a patriar- Leprohon, Pierre, Vittorio De Sica, Paris, 1966 chal capitalist civilization promotes Bazin, Andre, What Is Cinema? I and 2, Berkeley, 1967 Armes, Roy, Patterns of Realism, New York, 1972. -Robin wood Samuels, Charles Thomas, Encountering Directors, New York, 1972. 1256UMBERTO D FILMS, 4th EDITION 1256 the Lady Wakasa introduces him to the world of the aesthetic. She shows him fragile and exquisite vessels that she presents, and he accepts, as his creations, but that are totally unlike the crude, functional wares we have seen him almost brutally shape earlier. The complexity of response that this whole central segment evokes is sufficient in itself to call into question the reduction of the film to a single clear-cut statement. The Lady Wakasa is both evil spirit and a pathetic, victimized woman; the world of the aesthetic (which is also the world of the erotic) has a fascination and authentic beauty that make it far from easily dismissible. That alluring world, however, has three negative connotations. First, it is presented as a possible option only if one turns one’s back on reality. It is a world of fantasy and illusion where the suffering of human beings in a material world of oppression, cruelty, greed, and human exploitation cannot be permit￾ted to intrude. (One of the most expressive cuts in the history of the cinema is that from the exquisite scene of love-making on the cultivated lawn beside the lake to Miyagi, fearfully peering out from her hiding-place, a woman vulnerable to attack from all sides of a society created by men.) Second, Wakasa herself is not presented as an autonomous character, even in her appreciation of beauty. Every￾thing she knows, her father had taught her. Her father (long since dead) appears in the film as a hideous, emaciated skull-like mask speaking in a disturbingly strange subterranean voice. The aesthetic, whatever else it may be, is clearly defined as a patriarchal imposition: ‘‘taste’’ is what women are taught by men. Finally, the father is linked to war, domnation, and imperialism. Wakasa’s father had the misfor￾tune to lose, and have his clan exterminated, but the film makes clear that he would have inflicted precisely the same fate on his enemies, had the outcome been reversed. The overall effect of the film is to suggest, not that the aesthetic is invalid in itself, but that it cannot validly exist in this world. (The film’s contemporary relevance is by no means compromised by its setting in the sixteenth century.) The pot Genjuro is making at the end of the film, under Miyagi’s spiritual supervision, is significantly different from the two previous kinds of work: it is made with loving care, but also the product of experience; it is a work of art yet made to be used by Genjuro’s peers rather than admired by a cultivated elite. The great beauty of the film is of an order altogether different from the aestheticism of the Wakasa world. Mizoguchi never aestheticizes pain and suffering (in the manner of, say, David Lean in Dr. Zhivago). The extraordinary sequence-shot showing the mortal wounding of Miyagi is a case in point: the aesthetic strategies (long take, distance, complex camera movement, depth of field showing simultaneous actions in foreground and background) serve to sustain the character￾istic Mizoguchian tension between involvement and contemplation, but do not in any way mitigate the horror of the scene. If on one level Ugetsu tends to reinforce traditional myths of woman, on another it remains true to the radical spirit of Mizoguchi’s earlier Marxist-feminist principles. The actions of both Genjuro and Tobei are motivated by the values forced upon them by patriarchal capitalism. They both seek success (Genjuro through the acquisition of wealth, Tobei through the prestige of becoming a Samurai) in order to impress their wives, neither of whom shows the smallest interest in such ambitions. The film is a systematic critique of the kind of male egoism (expressing itself in greed and violence and the destruction of human relationships, always at the expense of women) that a patriar￾chal capitalist civilization promotes. —Robin Wood L’ULTIMO TANGO A PARIGI See THE LAST TANGO IN PARIS ULYSSES’ GAZE See TO VLEMMA TOU ODYSSEA UMBERTO D Italy, 1952 Director: Vittorio De Sica Production: Rizzoli-De Sica-Amato and Dear Films; black and white, 35mm; running time: 90 minutes, some sources state 80 minutes. Filmed 1951 in Cinecittà studios, and in and around Rome. Cost: about 140 million lire. Released 1952. Director of production: Nino Misiano; screenplay: Cesare Zavattini with Vittorio De Sica; photography: Aldo Graziati (a.k.a. G. R. Aldo); editor: Eraldo di Roma; sound engineer: Ennio Sensi; production designer: Virgilio Marchi; music: Alessandro Cigognini. Cast: Carlo Battisti (Umberto); Maria-Pia Casilio (Maria); Lina Gennari (Landlord); Alberto Albani Barbieri (The Fiancé); Elena Rea (Sister at the hospital); Memo Carotenuto (Voice of light for Umberto in the hospital); Ileana Simova (Surprised woman in the bedroom); plus many non-professional actors. Awards: New York Film Critics Award, Best Foreign Film (shared with Diabolique), 1955. Publications Script: Zavattini, Cesare, and Vittorio De Sica, Umberto D, Milan, 1953; published in ‘‘Umberto D Issue’’ of Avant-Scène du Cinéma (Paris), 15 April 1980. Books: Castello, G. C., Il Cinema Neorealistico Italiano, Turin, 1956. Rondi, Brunello, Il Neorealismo Italiano, Parma, 1956. Hawald, Patrice, Le Neo-realisme Italien et ses createurs, Paris, 1959. Agel, Henri, Vittorio De Sica, 2nd edition, Paris, 1964. Leprohon, Pierre, Vittorio De Sica, Paris, 1966. Bazin, André, What Is Cinema? 1 and 2, Berkeley, 1967. Armes, Roy, Patterns of Realism, New York, 1972. Samuels, Charles Thomas, Encountering Directors, New York, 1972