
For 20 years many visitors have come to the villa on an Italian hilltop owned by an English artist. Lucy, a 19-year-old American, was last there four years ago and wants to meet up again with the young Italian who kissed her and corresponded for a while. And she has brought the diary of her late mother filled with enigmatic poems that suggest Lucy was conceived on that hilltop. Lucy wants to find out if Daddy is the Italian war correspondent who wrote to her mother for 20 yea... (Full plot summary below)
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For 20 years many visitors have come to the villa on an Italian hilltop owned by an English artist. Lucy, a 19-year-old American, was last there four years ago and wants to meet up again with the young Italian who kissed her and corresponded for a while. And she has brought the diary of her late mother filled with enigmatic poems that suggest Lucy was conceived on that hilltop. Lucy wants to find out if Daddy is the Italian war correspondent who wrote to her mother for 20 years. Then again Daddy could be the dying English playwright in residence or the artist who uses a chainsaw on tree trunks for his sculptures. The three, of course, have no idea that Lucy is there to solve a mystery. They, the artist's wife, daughter of that wife and the daughter's American lover are most intrigued by Lucy's virginity.
Leave your thoughts about Stealing Beauty.
| Washington PostHal HinsonWhat's more, Bertolucci's voice is stronger, clearer and more effortlessly confident than it has been in years. He's stolen the beauty of Tuscany and his youthful star and transformed it into an exquisite work of movie art. |
| USA TodayMike ClarkThough the film tapers off a little toward the end, there's a climactic scene of recognition between the heroine and her father that was one of the most exquisite pieces of acting I'd seen in ages. |
| Daily Telegraph (UK)Anne BillsonIs there not something a little disturbing about the way in which ageing male film-makers are applauded for their ogling of actresses young enough to be their granddaughters? |
| Entertainment WeeklyKen TuckerCan Tyler act? Impossible to say. Bertolucci's neatest trick is to have constructed the movie around Tyler's gawky unself-consciousness. |
| Independent (UK)Adam Mars-JonesUnusually for Bertolucci, the film is an ensemble piece, with great glancing richness of detail conveyed by a wonderful cast. |
| Common Sense MediaJoyce SlatonMeditation on sex, life, death; older teens only. |
| VarietyDavid RooneyA model of poise and restraint, the film flows in a way that is deliberately undramatic, but made no less involving by the dreamy gentleness of its approach. |
| Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumA civilized, mellow, and generally graceful chamber piece. |
| Rolling StonePeter TraversIn contrasting the sexuality and rebellion of Lucy's generation with his own, Bertolucci clearly yearns to rekindle his creative spirit. |
| Reeling ReviewsRobin CliffordThe script is in keeping with the fabric of the film. It's languid and meanders about a bit, but, coupled with the lush and inviting Tuscany countryside, this is not a bad thing at all. |