The Cinema Ornate: The Films of Bertolucci By Keith Breese "I asked myself whether these visions pointed to a revolution, but could not really imagine anything of the sort." - Carl Jung. Memories, Dreams, Reflections Bertolucci's films exude a stylishness and filmic beauty that has rarely been captured by the artifice of cinema, yet the substance of Bertolucci's films, and indeed his primary point, remains quite confused and vague. While Bertolucci openly criticises and 'mocks' the conventions of Western cinema, his films tend to resemble collages or aglomerations of well-designed set-pieces that do not coalesce into a unified form. Perhaps, this was Bertolucci's intent, to create a cinema that defies categorization and elucidation. The interrogations in The Grim Reaper resonate with self-reflective examinations of film; as Bertolucci queries the form and substance of cinema. However, Bertolucci's interrogations manifest themselves in extremely varied and uncomfortable constructions, as he cannot seem to fully devote himself to an interpretation. This lack of coherence and the inconsistency reaches its height in Before the Revolution, which, although being quite breathtakingly beautiful, is absurdly self- engrossed. Bertolucci's later Spider's Stratagem and The Conformist engage in a self-reflexive hyper-realism that borders on visual genius. Bertolucci's critique of the spectator and fascism gives breathtaking insight into the apparatus of 'propaganda' and the emotional usurping of the individual within the web of 'cinema.' Bertolucci challenges the 'authority' of film by holding images and viewers hostage (willingly, of course) with a political and ideological blitzkrieg. While Bertolucci's latest outpourings have been mediocre at best, lacking the earlier degree of intellectual complexity and artistic crafting, one can still hope for the future.