Last Tango in Paris (1972)

Ultimo tango a Parigi / Le dernier Tango à Paris
Italy / France
written and directed by: Bernardo Bertolucci
starring: Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Maria Michi
comment: 25th November, 2016

I don't think I'm capable of understanding what this film is about. And when I try to grasp it from this point of view, it seems altogether bad to me.

When the characters first meet, they are both occupying one half of the screen and the other half shows a car riding by. Why? Why this angle? In the closer shots Marlon is shuffling slowly and without any energy, in the big shots he's walking across the bridge normally and without hesitating. Why are all the shots of those "empty" streets of Paris so random and meaningless, almost like they were chosen by someone who doesn't like the city or doesn't know it at all?

Why was Maria cast in the lead role when she's clearly not capable of showing separate emotions, let alone subtle transitions between them, with or without using words? Why was the storyline with the young director even included, it seemed nothing but laughable to me. And what was the ending about, really, was it indeed the intended ending for her character to be a dumb, heartless, and selfish monster?

Or was it just one of those things I didn't understand correctly? Were we supposed to root for her? But now I'm just getting caught up in negative vibes and I don't really enjoy that, so I'm gonna leave "Tango" to those who find meaning in it and go watch "A Streetcar named Desire" again. But I still want to say one last thing about "Tango": it seems ill-prepared. The screenplay feels like a first draft. Most of the dialogue is improvised on spot. Like nothing has any place or meaning and doesn't matter in the end. I don't see a point in this.