Visconti’s Death in Venice is brilliant yet hollow—its cultural symbols lack depth, and Mann’s nuanced discourse is lost in a visually rich void.
A Southern Italian family’s move to Milan leads to tragic consequences as they face modernity and individualism. Visconti’s film critiques socio-economic changes in Italy.
Whilst L’Etranger is unlikely to hold a major position in Visconti’s oeuvre, it is in several ways remarkable. It is perhaps too easy to underestimate Visconti’s superb ability to render an authentic sense of period (a quality virtually unique to him amongst Western film directors).
Pauline Kael reviews Luchino Visconti’s ‘The leopard’ (Il Gattopardo). Published in The New Yorker, September 19, 1983
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