Peter Greenaway is a complex artist, which seems to dedicate one decade to each of the various forms of art he engages in - painting, fiction films, documentary, multimedia. The 80s were the times of the fiction films and 'the Belly of an Architect' is one of his best and most known.
This is the story of an American architect coming to the eternal city to prepare an exhibition dedicated to the revolutionary 18th century architect Etienne Louis Boulee. He soon finds he is sick, and his life and career go down on spiral, as his younger and pregnant wife starts to cheat on him with one of his Italian assistants. The principal role is played by Brian Dennehy who plays probably the best role in his career of more than 140 films (by now), a role so far from the typical Irish cop roles he is usually cast in.
The story line is quite linear, but the quality of the acting and the special cinematography makes it stand in front of the crowd. Very few films succeeded to catch in image Rome so beautifully, and certainly Greenaway is one of the few to have done so. The film is full of references to architecture and art, and it is a delight to follow the composition of the scenes, resembling paintings from the masters. It is not an usual film, its unusual beauty asks to be discovered and lies in the details, but it's worth exploring and finding it.
This is the story of an American architect coming to the eternal city to prepare an exhibition dedicated to the revolutionary 18th century architect Etienne Louis Boulee. He soon finds he is sick, and his life and career go down on spiral, as his younger and pregnant wife starts to cheat on him with one of his Italian assistants. The principal role is played by Brian Dennehy who plays probably the best role in his career of more than 140 films (by now), a role so far from the typical Irish cop roles he is usually cast in.
The story line is quite linear, but the quality of the acting and the special cinematography makes it stand in front of the crowd. Very few films succeeded to catch in image Rome so beautifully, and certainly Greenaway is one of the few to have done so. The film is full of references to architecture and art, and it is a delight to follow the composition of the scenes, resembling paintings from the masters. It is not an usual film, its unusual beauty asks to be discovered and lies in the details, but it's worth exploring and finding it.