An an introverted teenager tells his parents he going on a ski trip, but instead spends his time alone in a basement.
Bernardo Bertolucci’s first feature in ten years is an underdeveloped study of a half-brother and sister. This is the sort of thing he could do in his sleep, and probably did.
It's very slight, and pretty implausible – wouldn't Lorenzo's schoolteacher have noted his absence on that skiing trip? – but the two young actors commit to the roles with exuberant warmth.
They journey towards common ground and the film achieves a poignant sense of hope.
It’s fine, but we expect more from this director.
It’s a pleasing if minor piece of work, like a semi-precious stone that you’d still keep.
A minor, but valuable Bertolucci film.
For all its flaws, this is clearly a personal film that may click with Bertolucci's auteurist fans, echoing as it does the incest drama of La Luna (1979) and Before the Revolution, about a young man obsessed with his glamorous aunt. But even with fabled auteurs, being consistent with yourself isn't always enough. After 103 minutes in the dark with Bertolucci's young neurotics, you may be glad to see the daylight.
It's a good deal less interesting and dramatic than Home Alone.
Interview: Bernardo Bertolucci, director of Me and You
General release. Check local listings for show times.
RSS feed of Cinema reviews