On March 1, 1971, Luchino Visconti's Morte a Venezia (1971) had its world premiere in London in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II and her daughter, Princess Anne. It was there that the Italian director proclaimed his Tadzio as the world's most beautiful boy. Fifty years later, that heavy shadow still weighs upon Swedish actor Björn Andrésen, the then 15-year-old star who embodied the legendary Tadzio, who takes us on a memory-laden journey of cinema history... (Full plot summary below)
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On March 1, 1971, Luchino Visconti's Morte a Venezia (1971) had its world premiere in London in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II and her daughter, Princess Anne. It was there that the Italian director proclaimed his Tadzio as the world's most beautiful boy. Fifty years later, that heavy shadow still weighs upon Swedish actor Björn Andrésen, the then 15-year-old star who embodied the legendary Tadzio, who takes us on a memory-laden journey of cinema history, tragedy, and second chances.
Leave your thoughts about The Most Beautiful Boy in the World.
| San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonThe absorbing rags-to-riches-to-rags story — a must for any classic film fan — is told in The Most Beautiful Boy in the World, directed by Kristina Lindström and Kristian Petri. |
| ObserverRex ReedA film five years in the making about the poisonous effects of movie fame on the young, this fascinating but dismally depressing Swedish documentary is well worth seeing, but never fully escapes the feeling that it’s all been seen before. |
| VarietyOwen GleibermanIt’s a small, impressionistic, oddly heartfelt movie about beauty, stardom, adoration, exploitation, and loss. Oh, is it ever about loss. |
| RogerEbert.comRobert DanielsThe Most Beautiful Boy in the World isn’t a perfect watch, and it's often confusing and confounding. But it gets at the heart of this forlorn figure, a once idol turned tragic Greek hero. It’s unflinching, and one of the most honest portraits of the pitfalls that can happen in child stardom. |
| The GuardianPeter BradshawIt is a desperately unhappy story, sympathetically told by film-makers Kristina Lindström and Kristian Petri. |
| CineVueChristopher MachellAndrésen became an overnight worldwide sensation and, through the lens of documentarians Kristina Lindström and Kristian Petri, an object lesson in the exploitation of children by the entertainment industry. |
| The New York TimesGlenn KennyAndresen’s determination to rise above misfortune, and his hopes for himself, make this movie less than a total tragedy. But it’s an often shudder-inducing cautionary tale. |
| The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckKristina Lindstrom and Kristian Petri’s fascinating, if diffuse, documentary fills in that considerable blank in his public profile while making clear the lingering emotional impact of Andrésen’s brush with fame. |
| EmpireSophie Monks KaufmanThis documentary has value as a damning account of the film-world’s treatment of a child actor, yet as a piece of art and a personal portrait, its vagueness creates unease. |
| Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinThe result is a cinematic curio in search of a more conclusive theme and emotional payoff. |
