I can totally see why Jonathan Rosenbaum was ga-ga over Bernardo Bertolucci's The Spider's Stratagem. It's like the film was made especially for him. Rigidly photographed in a geometric manner emphasizing planes and vertices, the film both demonstrates considerable technical acumen alongside a willingness to play with traditional storytelling forms. In this case, the story of a murdered Italian resistance fighter in pre-World War Two Italy is juxtaposed with that of his son returning to the village where he was killed. If you're not paying strict attention, you can miss the transitions between the two stories. But as fascinating and frankly beautiful as the film is--I was lucky enough to see a 35mm print--I found it boring and dreary. And as I joked on twitter, if you think about it, this film is basically The Dark Knight told from the POV of Commissioner Gordon. ;)
6/10
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