Death in Venice (1971). Photofest.
(Morte a Venezia, Luchino Visconti, Italy/France 1971, 130 min., 35mm, in English)
Summer of Solidarity. Visconti’s screen adaptation of Thomas Mann’s novella is a triumph of visual style and a haunting story of contemplation. Dirk Bogarde plays an aging German composer (i.e., Gustav Mahler) convalescing after a breakdown. His ensuing obsession with a blond boy stirs within him feelings long believed lost, the splendor of Venice and the androgynous perfection of the boy penetrating the composer’s reserve and leading to an epiphany of emotion and creativity. Visconti achieved the seemingly impossible by adapting Mann’s intensely interiorized novella into one of the most beautifully visual and visceral sound-era motion pictures.
Free admission.
This film series is organized by the George Eastman Museum in partnership with the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley, ImageOut: The Rochester LGBT Film Festival, and The MOCHA Center / Trillium Health. Generously sponsored by Trillium Health.