“The Echo Chamber”, an adaptation of Bertolucci’s final screenplay

Bernardo Bertolucci lives on on the big screen: amongst the films taking centre stage this weekend in cinemas is *The Echo Chamber*, a film based on the final screenplay written by the great director from Parma, who passed away in 2018.

Presented in competition at the Venice Film Festival a few days ago, “The Echo Chamber” is directed by Andrea Pallaoro; alongside Bertolucci, the screenplay was co-written by Ilaria Bernardini and Ludovica Rampoldi. For the first time in his career, Pallaoro is directing a script he did not write himself, yet his touch is still evident in this film, which evokes the claustrophobic atmospheres of his feature films, most notably his previous work *Monica*. At the same time, however, there are naturally many echoes (if we may indulge in this play on words) of Bertolucci’s cinema, ranging from *Last Tango in Paris* right through to the last feature film he directed, *Io e te*. These echoes can already be sensed when exploring the plot of this love story, in which care and dependence, presence and absence, go hand in hand throughout. Leo is a music producer suffering from excruciating back pain; Anne is the physiotherapist who will try to ease his pain and with whom he will begin a troubled relationship. The two brush past one another, lose touch, and seek each other out. They cannot bring themselves to part ways or break free. Set in a flat, “The Echo Chamber” is a film that focuses on a constant deconstruction of time, taking us on continuous leaps forwards and backwards through the story of the two protagonists.

Pallaoro has a knack for playing with symbolism, although in this case the metaphor in the title becomes overly didactic given the way it is recounted by Ava, an elderly singer with whom Leo is recording a new album. In addition to the musical references and the obvious repetitions that occur within a story in which gestures and situations are constantly relived, the ‘echo chamber’ may also serve as a link to that system in which opinions differing from our own are not accepted, a concept that fits well with the way the male character approaches the relationship. There are numerous points of interest and the visual style (including the choice of an almost square aspect ratio) is consistent with the content, but not all the sequences are sufficiently effective, particularly as the conclusion approaches, where the narrative choice seems too contrived and calculated. This is a significant shortcoming in a feature-length film that is nonetheless brimming with ambition and shot with care, though it could have been more powerful with a little more finesse. The performances, however, are remarkable, coming from a cast in top form that includes Luca Marinelli, Alicia Vikander and Susan Sarandon.

“Mutiny”, an action film by Jean-François Richet starring Jason Statham, takes a very different tone. The English actor plays Cole, a former soldier haunted by a troubled past, who stows away on a merchant ship with a single aim: to track down the man responsible for the murder of his wealthy employer. Convinced he is dealing with a simple case of settling a score, he instead finds himself caught up in a ruthless manhunt that leads him into the heart of a dense web of intrigue far vaster and more dangerous than he could have imagined. As his investigation unfolds across ports, illicit trafficking and criminal organisations, Reed discovers that a complex international conspiracy lies behind the murder. The plot alone is enough to realise that this film certainly doesn’t shine for its originality, and unfortunately there are far too many predictable and somewhat slapdash plot twists. On the other hand, it’s worth noting that the pace is good and it’s even partly entertaining: by now, however, we’ve seen far too many films of this sort, and it takes much more than that to be remembered long after the credits have rolled.