Death in Venice (1971) - 4 stars out of 10

Death in Venice (1971) - 4 stars out of 10

I just couldn't get into "Death in Venice."  Maybe I couldn't relate to the main character, or maybe I just couldn’t get over the “creepy factor," but Luchino Viconti's visually stunning film was lost on me.  It wasn't just that the story was weird, but that it moved at a snail's pace.  I understand that this story needs time to simmer so that the main character's obsession can slowly build, but in the end I kept thinking "there was about 15 minutes of actual story during the past 130 minutes."  Visconti‘s scenic shots paint a picture of Italian life and the pairing of this imagery creates a beautiful experience when paired with Mahler’s incredible symphonic music, but in the end I can’t get over the fact that nothing really happens over the course of these 2+ hours.  My favorite imagery is a progression throughout the film, found in the contrast between the bustling beach at the beginning and the nearly empty beach at the end.  The Cholera epidemic is such a cool backdrop, but there are thousands of interesting stories that could have been told in this setting.  For any fans of Gustav Mahler, it is interesting to observe the film's direct parallels to the composer.  This character isn't meant to be Mahler (particularly because Mahler was not a homosexual), but his physical resemblance and first name (“Gustav”) are not a mere coincidence.  Historically, we know that Thomas Mann (author of the original novel) was a huge Mahler fan, sending him a copy of one of his novels after being present at the premiere of Mahler's 8th Symphony.  Mahler had left such a strong impression on the author that his death inspired Mann to include him in his story in this way.  Visconti enhanced this parallel to Mahler by using his 3rd and 5th symphonies extensively in the film score.  "Death in Venice" is like a painting that is filled with beautiful colors that make it difficult to look away but fails to create an emotional attachment.  It was not until watching the not-so-subtle reference to this film in Ken Russell’s 1974 “Mahler” that I realized the impression that the film had made on me.  Perhaps it was just the use of the beautiful “Adagietto” from Mahler’s 5th Symphony, but this reenactment gave me warm fuzzies and a smile as I watched the innocence of this scene develop again.  Maybe there’s something to this film and I’ll get it next time.