Cinema surveillance images are loading at the bottom of the page

Besieged (L'assedio)

Threat advisory: Elevated - Significant risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

An old house in the centre of Rome - a refuge for two lonely people. He's English, middle aged, withdrawn, eccentric, while she's young African woman in her early 20s, burdened with worries about the past yet full of hope for the future.

Kinsky (David Thewlis) hides behind his piano, with music as his only companion: Bach, Mozart, Grieg. Shandurai (Thandie Newton) comes from far away, and finds refuge in Kinsky's house - which she cleans in exchange for a room while she studies to be a doctor. Their lives interlink in a game of attractions and refusals, of secrets and allusions, appearance and truth, doubt and certainty.

Also starring Claudio Santamaria as Agostino, Story by James Lasdun and Bernardo Bertolucci, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.

Cinematic intelligence sources

NB: Italian language dialogue with English language subtitles

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Art.

I know it's art because a lot of the time there was nothing happening and nobody talking. There were some nudie bits, too - that's always a good sign of art - but fortunately Harvey Keitel didn't take off his clothes (possibly because he's not in this film).

The pace is deliberately slow so that there can be lots of bits where nothing's happening. The plot is loose and open so that there can be lots of bits where nobody's talking. That leaves more room for meaningful staring at people and walls and that. It's all about tortured and unrequited love. The ending is fraught with possibilities with lots of people saying and doing nothing.

Like I said, this film is art.

So would ya wanna see it? Ummm... well... you'd have to be a dedicated art fim watcher. Sitting through an hour and a half of poignant cinematography to discover the question of who Shandurai loves and then to have it not answered takes a lot of patience. I managed it, once I'd slowed myself down enough to appreciate the nihilism of Bernardo's oeuvre, but there's nothing that a good meal with friends and a few glasses of red wouldn't fix up. It's up to you.

Security censorship classification

PG (Adult themes, sexual references)

Surveillance time

94 minutes (1:34 hours)

Not for public release in Australia before date

23 February 2000

Cinema surveillance images