Before the Revolution

The second feature from Bernardo Bertolucci, director of Last Tango in Paris, 1900 and The Last Emperor, tells of a young man (Francesco Barilli) whose involvement with radical politics and affair with an aunt is countered by his need to conform and settle down with a pretty girl. Bertolucci refined these themes over and over again, most notably in his masterpiece The Conformist (1969). This is a fascinating apprentice effort, even if it is full of dated, gimmicky effects borrowed from Jean-Luc Godard.