| The Great Beauty | |
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 Italian theatrical release poster | |
| Italian | La grande bellezza |
| Directed by | Paolo Sorrentino |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Paolo Sorrentino |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Luca Bigazzi |
| Edited by | Cristiano Travaglioli |
| Music by | Lele Marchitelli |
Production companies |
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Release dates | |
Running time |
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| Language | Italian |
| Budget | €9.2 million |
| Box office | $24.9 million[2] |
The Great Beauty (Italian:La grande bellezza[laˈɡrandebelˈlettsa]) is a 2013artdrama film co-written and directed byPaolo Sorrentino. Filming took place in Rome starting on 9 August 2012. It premiered at the2013 Cannes Film Festival where it was screened in competition for thePalme d'Or.[3] It was shown at the2013 Toronto International Film Festival,[4] the 2013Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (winning Grand Prix), and at the 2013 Reykjavik European Film Festival.
The film wonBest Foreign Language Film at the86th Academy Awards,[5] as well as theGolden Globe and theBAFTA award in the same category. It is a co-production between the Italian Medusa Film andIndigo Film and the French Babe Films, with support fromBanca Popolare di Vicenza,Pathé andFrance 2 Cinéma.[6][7] With a production budget of €9.2 million, the film grossed over $24 million worldwide.
The film opens with a quote fromLouis-Ferdinand Céline's novelJourney to the End of the Night: "Travel is useful; it exercises the imagination. All the rest is disappointment and fatigue. Our journey is entirely imaginary. That is its strength. It goes from life to death. People, animals, cities, things – all are imagined. It's a novel, just a fictitious narrative.Littré says so, and he's never wrong. And besides, in the first place, anyone can do as much. You just have to close your eyes. It's on the other side of life."[8][9][10][11][12]
Jep Gambardella is a 65-year-old seasoned journalist andtheater critic, mostly committed to wandering among the social events of a Rome immersed in the beauty of its history and in the superficiality of its inhabitants today, in a merciless contrast. He also ventured into creative writing in his youth: he is the author of only one work calledThe Human Apparatus. Despite the appreciation and the many awards he received, Jep has not written other books, not only for his laziness but above all for a creative block from which he cannot escape. The purpose of his existence has been to become a "socialite", but not just any socialite, but "the king of society".
Jep is surrounded by several friends: Romano, aplaywright who is perpetually on the leash of a young woman who exploits him; Lello, a mouthy and wealthy toy seller; Viola, a wealthy bourgeois and mother of a son with serious mental problems named Andrea; Stefania, a self-centredradical chic writer; Dadina, thedwarf editor of the newspaper where Jep works.
One morning, he meets the husband of Elisa, a woman who has been Jep's first and probably only love: the man announces that Elisa has died, leaving behind only a diary in which the woman tells of her love for Jep; thus, her husband discovered that he had been a mere surrogate for 35 years, nothing more than "a good companion". Elisa's husband, now afflicted and grieved, will soon find consolation in the affectionate welcome of his foreign maid. After this episode, Jep begins a profound and melancholic reinterpretation of his life and a long meditation on himself and on the world around him. And, above all, he thinks about starting to write again.
During the following days, Jep meets Ramona, astripper with painful secrets, and Cardinal Bellucci, in whom the passion for cooking is more alive than his Catholic faith; Jep is gradually convinced of the futility and uselessness of his existence. Soon his "vicious circle" also breaks down: Ramona, with whom he had established an innocent and profound relationship, dies of an incurable disease; Romano, disappointed by the deceptive attractiveness of Rome, leaves the city, farewelling only Jep; Stefania, humiliated by Jep, who had revealed her secrets and her lies to her face, left Jep's worldly circle; Viola, on the other hand, after the death of her son, donates all her possessions to the Church and becomes a missionary in Africa.
Just when hopes seem to abandon Jep once and for all, he is saved by a new episode: after a meeting, pushed by Dadina, who wants to get an interview with a "Saint", a Catholic missionary nun in theThird World, Jep goes toGiglio Island to report on theshipwreck of theCosta Concordia. Right here, remembering his first meeting with Elisa in a flashback, a glimmer of hope rekindles in him: his next novel is finally ready to come to light.
| No.[a] | Title | Album[b] | Artists | Composer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "I lie" (The Little Match Girl Passion) | 1-01 | Torino Vocalensemble | David Lang |
| 2 | Far l'amore | 2-01 | Bob Sinclar &Raffaella Carrà | |
| 3 | More than scarlet | 2-02 | Decoder Ring | |
| 4 | Mueve la colita | 2–17 | El Gato D.J. | |
| 5 | My heart's in the highlands | 1-03 | Else Torp, Christopher Bowers-Broadbent | Arvo Pärt |
| 6 | Que no se acabe el mambo | 2–14 | La Banda Gorda | |
| 7 | The Lamb | 1-07 | The choir of theTemple Church directed byStephen Layton | John Tavener text byWilliam Blake |
| 8 | Parade | 2-06 | Tape | |
| 9 | III. Lento—Cantabile-semplice fromSymphony No. 3 | 1–10 | London Sinfonietta,Dawn Upshaw directed byDavid Zinman | Henryk Górecki |
| 10 | World to come IV | 1-02 | Maya Beiser | David Lang |
| 11 | Moody | – | ESG | |
| 12 | Take my breath away | 2-03 | Gui Boratto | |
| 13 | Thebeatitudes | 1-05 | Kronos Quartet | Vladimir Martynov |
| 14 | Forever | 2-08 | Antonello Venditti | Maurizio Fabrizio |
| 15 | Pancho | – | ||
| 16 | There must be an angel (playing with my heart) | – | Lorraine Bowen | Annie Lennox,David A. Stewart |
| 17 | Water from the same source | 2–10 | Rachel's | |
| 18 | II. Adagio fromSymphony in C major | 1-08 | film:Leopold Stokowski and his Symphony Orchestra album:New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted byDonald Johanos | Georges Bizet |
| 19 | Dies irae fromRequiem for my Friend | 1-06 | Elżbieta Towarnicka,Dariusz Paradowski,Piotr Lykowski,Piotr Kusiewicz,Grzegorz Zychowicz andJan Szypowski | Zbigniew Preisner |
| 20 | Everything trying | 2–05 | Damien Jurado | |
| 21 | Discoteca | 2–16 | Exchpoptrue | |
| 22 | We no speak americano | 2–15 | Studio Allstars | |
| 23 | Ti ruberò | 2–12 | Monica Cetti | |
| 24 | Trois mouvements perpétuels | – | Peter Beijersbergen van Henegouwen | Francis Poulenc |
| 25 | Beata viscera | 1–11 | Vox Clamantis | Magister Perotinus |
| – | Time | 1-04 | Lele Marchitelli (it) | |
| – | River flows | 1-09 | Lele Marchitelli | |
| – | Brain waves | 2-04 | Lele Marchitelli | |
| – | Color my world | 2-07 | Lele Marchitelli | |
| – | Surge of excitement | 2-09 | Lele Marchitelli | |
| – | Settembre non comincia | 2–11 | Lele Marchitelli | |
| – | Trumeau | 2–13 | Lele Marchitelli | |
| – | Ramona | 2–18 | Los Paraguayos andLuis Alberto del Paraná | Lele Marchitelli |
Philippe Ridet, Rome correspondent forLe Monde, criticized the film inInternazionale while supporting the perspectives of journalists from La Stampa,Raffaella Silipo andGianni Riotta:[13]
The victory of Italy? Yes, but which Italy? 'The Americans imagine Italy exactly like this,' Raffaella Silipo noted last Monday in La Stampa: 'Magnificent stones and inconclusive inhabitants, young people fleeing, and old people painting themselves and forgetting as they dance.' On Tuesday, La Stampa’s Gianni Riotta evoked a reward that 'sounds like a warning': 'Sorrentino signs the film of an Italy resigned to lacking credibility. Let’s continue like this, and we’ll end up as elegant vagabonds looking at the past, maybe winning plenty of Oscars, but without a dignified future.'But the six thousand voters in Hollywood are like this. They love Italy for how they imagine it, just like all the jury members who awarded the film across the world before its triumph in Los Angeles. 5 May 2014.
Ridet's perspective would be countered in an article byTiziano Peccia for the Brazilian academic journal O Olho da História. The article, dedicated to beauty, followed the death ofUmberto Eco:[14]
Philippe Ridet’s vision taints the intelligence of the peninsula with grotesque and superficial tones, reducing Italy to the idea of celebrating its own decadence. His statement, drawn from his article 'Italy laughs at seeing itself in the mirror of La Grande Bellezza,' stereotypes the average Italian as a Griffolino d’Arezzo from Dante’s Divine Comedy, a character full of airs despite his infernal placement.
Yet, we must ask ourselves a question: Was this Sorrentino’s message? Did the Neapolitan director aim to emphasize the theme of Italian decadence, as denounced by the media? Or rather, more profoundly, was his focus on the modern and worldly frenzy that seduces, beguiles, entices, and then leaves one burdened with a handful of shattered, cursed dreams?
The fact that a film like La Grande Bellezza can be interpreted as a limited picture of Italian issues smells, to borrow expressions from journalistMarco Travaglio, of rhetoric and provincialism. It’s the provincialism of a people probably no longer accustomed to hearing about themselves in a positive or meritocratic light—a nation that turns into mockery a well-crafted work appreciated globally. This widespread provincialism is a new fruit for a country like Italy, accustomed to millennia of greatness and artistic production recognized and esteemed everywhere.
Why is it that a work about moral decay, such as Petronius’s Satyricon, describing animalistic instincts and dissoluteness, is interpreted as a reflection on a vicious, savage humanity, rather than a critical portrayal of the dissolute realities of Pozzuoli and Crotone?
Tiziano Peccia, "Critica e critiche alla grande bellezza," O Olho da História, Issue 22 (April 2016)
It has been observed that while internationalfilm criticism has generally judged Sorrentino's film positively, Italian critics have been divided with harsh judgments:[15]
If onlyLa grande bellezza were content to be a bad movie. It is instead "a new emotional experience," asWalter Veltroni wrote yesterday in theMessaggero.
— Nanni Delbecchi, review inIl Fatto Quotidiano, 30 May 2013
Or, on the contrary, with great appreciation:[16]
This tribute to the Capital, signed by Paolo Sorrentino, is a disorganized, opulent, fragmentary, and shameless film, but also one so beautiful it will move you to tears.
— Alessia Starace, review inMovieplayer.it, 21 May 2013
This contrast of opinions has been interpreted in various ways,[17] but in negative evaluations, it seems to reconnect with the recurring notion of the director's presumed arrogance and ambition to propose his vision, almost as if it were a sequel toLa dolce vita byFederico Fellini,[18] which instead resonates with the imagination of international audiences who appreciate this portrayal.
Thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes reported a 91% approval rating, based on 135 reviews, with aweighted average rating of 8/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Dazzlingly ambitious, beautifully filmed, and thoroughly enthralling,The Great Beauty offers virtuoso filmmaking from writer/director Paolo Sorrentino."[19] The film holds a score of 86/100 onMetacritic based on 34 reviews, signifying "universal acclaim".[20]
Robbie Collin atThe Daily Telegraph awarded Sorrentino's film the maximum five stars and described it as "a shimmering coup de cinema". He likened it toRoberto Rossellini'sRome, Open City andFederico Fellini'sLa Dolce Vita in its ambition to record a period of Roman history on film. "Rossellini covered the Nazi occupation of 1944; Fellini the seductive, empty hedonism of the years that followed. Sorrentino's plan is to do the same for theBerlusconi era," he wrote.[21] Deborah Young ofThe Hollywood Reporter stated "Sorrentino's vision of moral chaos and disorder, spiritual and emotional emptiness at this moment in time is even darker than Fellini's (thoughEttore Scola'sThe Terrace certainly comes in somewhere)."[22] Critics have also identified other purposefully explicit film homages: toRoma,8½,[23] Scola'sSplendor,[citation needed]Michelangelo Antonioni'sLa notte.[24] Spanish film directorPedro Almodóvar named the film as one of the twelve best films of 2013, placing it second in his list.[25] In 2016, the film was ranked amongthe 100 greatest films since 2000 in an international critics poll by 177 critics around the world.[26] It is currently director Paolo Sorrentino's second highest rated film on Rotten Tomatoes.[27]
Various critics named the film as one of the best of 2013.
Peter Bradshaw also named the film as one of the 20 best films of the 21st Century in the Guardian.[44]
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