Saw Fellini's Casanova (1976), a very fanciful take on the story of Casanova, notorious lover of women. It starts with a bang, at the Venice carnival. Like Moulin rouge or The Devils, this film is packed with super-fantastic re-imaginings of ancient Venice and Europe generally. Soon after the opening, we see a woman in a row-boat on a sea which is transparently constructed out of trash bags. We are then treated to a sex scene.
Donald Sutherland plays the titular Casanova. He is played florid and flamboyant, like a stately drag queen. The absurdity, it turns out is intentional. There's something sad about this Casanova: many times he begs noblemen for a permanent position or for some modicum of respect, only to be sneered at and laughed at, to have pretty women thrown at him which he of course is distracted by. He speaks of poetry and science, carries himself with great bearing, but the world only sees him as a horny goat, mechanically thrusting into the next conquest.
The film is on Casanova's side, but in a pitying way. He's entranced by women but this is also his downfall: he cannot settle down with just one and this keeps him moving on and moving on until at last he's too old and worn down and dissipated to run anymore. A pretty tragedy.
Alas, the film has a hefty dose of 1970s craziness. There's many strange choices made. In addition to the trash bad ocean, the sex scenes are also transparently fake. Donald's buttocks flap up and down like he's doing pushups as the woman under him flaps her arms and legs, comically moaning "oh, oh!" It's not intended to be sexy (and isn't) and the absurdity, lack of sexiness only underscores how empty Casanova's life is, but it's not clear that that's what's happening and it's confusing and off-putting. Similarly, the choice to feature Donald Sutherland with painted-on eyebrows and rouged lips, often clad in a corset and a flowery blouse. It's all on purpose, but it's still frustrating and confusing. An interesting film however.
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