I saw this thing in a local art house in 1986. The theater was packed. I had read something about it but didn't know what to expect and didn't quite understand it. I liked some of the anachronisms, the ones that seemed natural. Like a guy with a cigarette in his mouth working on an old motorcycle in one scene or a guy typing on a 1916 Royal typewriter which looked like something that might have existed back them.
Watching it now, the buzzcuts and the '80's hairstyles bother me more than anything else. There's a scene early of Caravaggio as a teen. An aging client chases him around the room with his pants around his ankles. The young fellow tells the man that he's an art object and that the man's gotten his money's worth. Later, he's taken in by a cardinal who apparently molests him and bankrolls him as an artist. Didn't explain where he learned to paint.
The sets were minimal, a few pieces of rustic furniture in rooms that were otherwise empty. Everything was nicely lit. Looked like the 16th century to me.
Emotionally lifeless. The only feeling I had for the characters was that I'd never want to be around any of them. But what more should I want?
Tilda Swinton does yoga. With Robbie Coltraine, Sean Bean,
Available on Fandor.
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