Being Maria | Dir: Jessica Palud | ★ ★ ★ ★ ½
WARNING: The film depicts a rape scene
The film opens with 16 year-old Maria Schneider (Anamaria Vertolome) being thrown out of her home by her mother because she had made contact with her previously absent father, who was a well-known French actor. Her uncle gives her shelter and the screen fades to black.
Maria’s story is picked up three years later when she is talking with emerging film director Bernardo Bertolucci (Giuseppe Maggio) who wants her to star in the film he is planning to make. Bertolucci sees the young actress as being “like a blank page” and he pairs her with American screen legend Marlon Brando (Matt Dillon) in the film The Last Tango in Paris.
Brando’s character was a recently widowed American who had an intense sexual relationship with a young Parisian woman, and the film’s portrayal of rape and emotional turmoil led to international controversy and censorship.
Using a memoir written by Maria’s cousin Vanessa Schneider, writer/director Jessica Palud’s film is a cautionary tale about a young naïve woman who was abused in the name of art, and the ramifications it had on the rest of her life.
Palud also had access to the original script which did not include the controversial scene, but had notes by the script editor as to what was added when Bertolucci orchestrated the scene where the humiliation, tears and anguish were real.
Maria was one of the first actresses to speak out about abuse, but this was silenced in the name of art, and people even demonised Maria for the content of the scene. We see how the trauma cast a shadow on the rest of her life, despite a caring, romantic relationship with Noor (Céleste Brunnquell).
Being Maria can be seen at the Alliance Française French Film Festival – which runs from 13 March until 16 April at Palace Raine Square, Luna Leederville, Luna Outdoor, Luna on SX and Windsor Cinema. See www.affrenchfilmfestival.org for the full program.
Lezly Herbert
