Review of La Commare Secca (1962) by Michael H — 05 Mar 2016

Bertolucci has described how he approached the making of the film as if writing a poem, serving what he felt to be the principle subject, the passing of time. The fluidity of La commare seccaâ??s time structure, with the film constantly folding in on itself, is like a pre-echo of the way he would later edit TheConformist, in which the car journey toward the assassination becomes a recurring event, with the main body of the narrative told in flash-back.

But unlike that film, La commare secca is an investigation without a central protagonist and has no overt moral stance. Instead, the filmâ??s attitude is one of an almost innocent enchantment, with the camera moving eloquently across landscapes (such as the magnificent pan from the Tiber River filled with bathing kids to the dance platform where the murderer is arrested) and exploring faces with a tender gaze.

Bertolucci has always shown an acute sensitivity to the human form, and itâ??s particularly evident here in the delicacy of the scenes with the two young boys and their noticeably more mature objects of desire.