Review of Death in Venice (1971) by Max S — 12 Jan 2008

Death in Venice is a fascinating book by Thomas Mann. I was curious to see how the movie adaptation would approach Mannâ??s work; I was sadly disappointed. The book tells the story of an aging author who, disgusted with the ugliness of the world, vacations in Venice and finds himself obsessed with the god-like beauty of a young teen. Now where to begin with my issues with the film adaptation â?¦.

How about the decision to include a tragic love story concerning the authorâ??s (actually a composer in the movie) wife and daughter, a subplot that was never in the book and added, I assume, out of fear of homosexuality? This subplot feeds into the movieâ??s main problem; it fails to explore the complicated obsession of the author without devolving into extremes. The author either seems like a creepy pedophile or is thrust into awkward situations that are meant to represent the world's ugliness. The subtlety of Mann's work is lacking. This problem is then worsened by Bogardeâ??s interpretation of the author. A fascinating character, simultaneously disturbed and delighted to have found what he believes to be the last bit of purity in the world, is transformed into a creepy, socially inept jerk in the movie.

There are a few positive aspects. I think that the last 10 minutes are actually well done, achieving that impact of tragedy I felt at the end of the book. The cinematography is gorgeous with wonderful use of lighting, filters, and compositions; you havenâ??t truly seen Venice until youâ??ve seen some of these shots. Unfortunately, the director of photography relies too heavily on zoom, a method that draws too much attention to itself for the intensely personal study on mortality this film is supposed to â?? and fails to â?? be.