Last Tango In Paris (1972)

A middle aged American (recent) widower (Marlon Brando) owns a small hotel in Paris. At an apartment he's considering renting, he meets a young girl (Maria Schneider) and they begin an anonymous sexual relationship as he insists they don't reveal anything personal about themselves. Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci (THE CONFORMIST). When it opened in both Europe and the U.S., the film caused a major controversy. In Italy, director Bertolucci was put on trial for obscenity and received a four month suspended sentence while the Italian supreme court ordered all copies of the film destroyed. In both the U.S. and Europe, the film was attacked as pornography masquerading as art. Much later, Schneider claimed she was psychologically abused by having to perform an anal rape scene. All that aside, the film is an undisputed masterpiece. It was Brando's last genuinely great performance. He seemed to lose all interest in acting after that. As for Maria Schneider, I have mixed emotions. I found her performance quite amateurish but in certain scenes, that amateurishness is very effective. The score by Gato Barbieri is spectacular. A raw powerhouse punch of a film! With Jean Pierre Leaud, Massimo Girotti, Catherine Allegret and Maria Michi.