CINE HISTÓRICO: 'El Gatopardo', La decadencia de la aristocracia, según Visconti

J. D. Q. 21/02/2010

 

Obra cumbre del director italiano Luchino Visconti, El Gatopardo (Il Gattopardo), muestra como nadie la decadencia de un mundo aristocrático que se derrumba sin previo aviso. En el filme, estrenado en marzo de 1963, desfilan con igual maestría Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon y Claudia Cardinale.

La historia comienza en la Sicilia de 1860, cuando el ejército de Garibaldi desembarca en Marsala para anexionar la isla al nuevo Reino de Italia. El drama, premiado en su día en el Festival de Cannes, narra la vida de Don Fabrizio, príncipe de Salina, y toda su familia, obligada a refugiarse en una casa de campo tras la invasión de Sicilia por tropas de Garibaldi. La familia, antes reverenciada, ve cómo su clase social desaparece de repente, sin más. El aroma a naftalina abre una reflexión sobre la decadencia, retratada en la mansión que los nobles sicilianos tienen en Donnafugatta.

Visconti fue premiado por este filme con la Palma de Oro en el Festival de Cannes de 1963 y recibió también varios galardones del Sindicato Nacional Italiano de Periodistas Cinematográficos.

La película está basada en el libro homónimo que escribió Giussepe Tomasi di Lampedusa, un aristocrático esquivo, más amigo de la lectura que de los grandes fastos de la alta sociedad. En 1954, año en el que entró en contacto casi por casualidad con los escritores italianos de la época, escribió durante dos años de manera casi febril El Gatopardo, además de cinco cuentos y un estudio sobre Stendhal. Después envió el manuscrito a dos editores, Mondadori y Einaudi, que se negaron a publicarla. En julio de 1957 Di Lampedusa murió en una clínica de Roma, y tan sólo un año después, vio la luz la novela. El éxito de ventas y de crítica fue absoluto, aunque algunos escritores de la época cargaron sus tintas contra Lampedusa aduciendo el trato preferente que había recibido en ocasiones por tratarse de un noble.

Quién sabe si por su condición de conde de Lonato Pozzolo, la adaptación cinematográfica cayó en manos de Luchino Visconti, muy cercano al neorrealismo de la época. El reparto de El Gatopardo contó con lo mejor de la época: Burt Lancaster, galán rudo, estrella en la pantalla, pero muy celoso de su vida privada; Alain Delon, personaje clave en el cine europeo, que trabajó también con el director italiano en Rocco y sus hermanos, y Claudia Cardinale, leyenda viva del cine y protagonista en un centenar de filmes.

El resultado es una película que se ha abierto con pleno derecho un hueco importante en la historia del cine.

The Draughtsman's Contract (El contrato del dibujante) de Peter Greenaway, 1982

En el verano de 1694, Mr. Neville, un dibujante prometedor y ambicioso, visita la casa y las propiedades del hacendado Mr. Herbert de Compton Anstey, en Wiltshire. Venciendo los reparos iniciales, ya que su capacidad para el halago sólo la supera su jactanciosa pretensión de dibujar la verdad, el señor Neville recibe un encargo, pero no del hacendado sino de su mujer. Se firma un contrato y, a cambio de doce dibujos de la casa con el foso y los cuidados jardines, Mr. Neville convence a Mrs. Herbert para que le dé vía libre para disfrutar de su hospitalidad más íntima. Éste se verá envuelto en una intriga doméstica que le convertirá en sospechoso no sólo de adulterio sino además de muchas otras cosas. 

Opening scene from The Draughtsman's Contract - one of the greatest film ever made. A work ingeniously conceived through deep inspiring senses and forms of Art.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083851/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Drau...'s_Contract

England, 1694. Mrs Herbert (Janet Suzman) and her daughter Mrs Talmann (Anne-Louise Lambert) try to persuade Mr Neville (Anthony Higgins), an artist, to make a series of drawings of Mr and Mrs Herbert's house and estate. Mr Neville finally agrees when Mrs Herbert offers, in addition to paying for each drawing and giving him room and board while he draws, to sleep with him. (Oddly, she makes this offer in the presence of her husband's agent, Mr Noyes (Neil Cunningham), who is drawing up the contract.) Mrs Herbert intends the drawings to be a gift to her obnoxious and estranged husband, who dotes on his property and who is conveniently planning to be away from home while the drawings are created.

Mr Neville inconveniences the entire household with detailed and stringent requirements for his 12 drawings. For specified periods every day, the views he has chosen must be kept clear of carriages, animals, smoking chimneys, and people -- except for the one that requires Mr Talmann (Hugh Fraser) to stand still and wear the same clothes for several days running.

The atmosphere of the film is chilly; there's little indication that any of the characters like one another, and many of them are fairly hostile. Starting over the issue of Mr Talmann's wardrobe, Mr Talmann and Mr Neville snipe at one another continuously. Mr and Mrs Talmann have a bitter confrontation. It's hard to tell what the exaggerated costumes are meant to contribute: comically tall headpieces for the women, and for the men, very long, curly wigs -- waist-length, in some cases -- which, along with full-skirted coats, make them look like Edwardian schoolgirls.

Mrs Herbert is distressed by the sexual part of her agreement and tries to break the contract; Mr Neville refuses. Mrs Talmann makes her own bargain for sexual favors with Mr Neville (which doesn't affect her mother's). Later, we learn that Mr Talmann is impotent -- and also that Mr Herbert doesn't believe that women should own property, so the inheritance of the estate depends on Mrs Talmann producing a son.

Mr Herbert's injured horse turns up, and shortly thereafter his body is found in the moat. Mr Noyes, the agent, who as a young man wanted to marry Mrs Herbert, comes to her demanding assistance because he believes he will be suspected of murdering Mr Herbert. Mrs Herbert shows no interest in helping him, so Mr Noyes blackmails her: if she doesn't give him the drawings (why does he want the drawings?), he'll make the draughtsman's contract public, exposing her as an adulteress.

Mrs Talmann observes that many of the drawings include objects that have no business being where they are: a ladder leading to Mrs Talmann's bedroom window; a pair of boots belonging to her husband; and several items of clothing belonging to Mr Herbert. Mrs Talmann implies that Mr Neville is planting clues related to the demise of Mr Herbert. But Mr Neville is clearly drawing what he sees, and we have no evidence that he's responsible for the presence of any of the misplaced objects.

An odd feature of the landscape is a moving statue (Michael Feast), which turns up twined with vines against a wall, on the roof while Mrs Herbert and her guests are eating an outdoor meal in the foreground, and on a pedestal from which it first removes an obelisk.

Having completed his contract and gone away, Mr Neville comes back for a visit. Mrs Herbert offers him one more tryst in exchange for one more drawing, and he agrees. He completes a view of an equestrian statue in the garden, though he draws the horse without its rider. It's not apparent whether this is because he can't see the rider -- the moving statue may not be visible to everyone -- or because Mr Neville is alluding to the death of Mr Herbert.

Although his drawing is done, Mr Neville continues to sit by the statue. As it grows dark, he's surrounded by a group of masked gentlemen, most of whom are recognizable as members of the Herbert household or their friends. The gentlemen taunt Neville, put his eyes out with a torch, kill him, and throw his body in the moat. If their motivation is related to Mr Herbert's murder, they don't mention it. They burn all the drawings.

England, 1694. Mrs Herbert (Janet Suzman) and her daughter Mrs Talmann (Anne-Louise Lambert) try to persuade Mr Neville (Anthony Higgins), an artist, to make a series of drawings of Mr and Mrs Herbert's house and estate. Mr Neville finally agrees when Mrs Herbert offers, in addition to paying for each drawing and giving him room and board while he draws, to sleep with him. (Oddly, she makes this offer in the presence of her husband's agent, Mr Noyes (Neil Cunningham), who is drawing up the contract.) Mrs Herbert intends the drawings to be a gift to her obnoxious and estranged husband, who dotes on his property and who is conveniently planning to be away from home while the drawings are created.

Mr Neville inconveniences the entire household with detailed and stringent requirements for his 12 drawings. For specified periods every day, the views he has chosen must be kept clear of carriages, animals, smoking chimneys, and people -- except for the one that requires Mr Talmann (Hugh Fraser) to stand still and wear the same clothes for several days running.

The atmosphere of the film is chilly; there's little indication that any of the characters like one another, and many of them are fairly hostile. Starting over the issue of Mr Talmann's wardrobe, Mr Talmann and Mr Neville snipe at one another continuously. Mr and Mrs Talmann have a bitter confrontation. It's hard to tell what the exaggerated costumes are meant to contribute: comically tall headpieces for the women, and for the men, very long, curly wigs -- waist-length, in some cases -- which, along with full-skirted coats, make them look like Edwardian schoolgirls.

Mrs Herbert is distressed by the sexual part of her agreement and tries to break the contract; Mr Neville refuses. Mrs Talmann makes her own bargain for sexual favors with Mr Neville (which doesn't affect her mother's). Later, we learn that Mr Talmann is impotent -- and also that Mr Herbert doesn't believe that women should own property, so the inheritance of the estate depends on Mrs Talmann producing a son.

Mr Herbert's injured horse turns up, and shortly thereafter his body is found in the moat. Mr Noyes, the agent, who as a young man wanted to marry Mrs Herbert, comes to her demanding assistance because he believes he will be suspected of murdering Mr Herbert. Mrs Herbert shows no interest in helping him, so Mr Noyes blackmails her: if she doesn't give him the drawings (why does he want the drawings?), he'll make the draughtsman's contract public, exposing her as an adulteress.

Mrs Talmann observes that many of the drawings include objects that have no business being where they are: a ladder leading to Mrs Talmann's bedroom window; a pair of boots belonging to her husband; and several items of clothing belonging to Mr Herbert. Mrs Talmann implies that Mr Neville is planting clues related to the demise of Mr Herbert. But Mr Neville is clearly drawing what he sees, and we have no evidence that he's responsible for the presence of any of the misplaced objects.

An odd feature of the landscape is a moving statue (Michael Feast), which turns up twined with vines against a wall, on the roof while Mrs Herbert and her guests are eating an outdoor meal in the foreground, and on a pedestal from which it first removes an obelisk.

Having completed his contract and gone away, Mr Neville comes back for a visit. Mrs Herbert offers him one more tryst in exchange for one more drawing, and he agrees. He completes a view of an equestrian statue in the garden, though he draws the horse without its rider. It's not apparent whether this is because he can't see the rider -- the moving statue may not be visible to everyone -- or because Mr Neville is alluding to the death of Mr Herbert.

Although his drawing is done, Mr Neville continues to sit by the statue. As it grows dark, he's surrounded by a group of masked gentlemen, most of whom are recognizable as members of the Herbert household or their friends. The gentlemen taunt Neville, put his eyes out with a torch, kill him, and throw his body in the moat. If their motivation is related to Mr Herbert's murder, they don't mention it. They burn all the drawings.