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Bernardo Bertolucci’s third and seldom-shown feature is very much a reflection of its period1968but no less fascinating for that. Loosely based on Dostoyevski’s The Double, and starring the remarkable Pierre Clementi, who also plays his own doppelganger, the film was made at the height of Godard’s influence on younger European directors, and Bertolucci’s first color film reflects his master in its loose narrative structure, its focus on student radicalism, its satire on consumerism (which also shows the influence of Frank Tashlin), and its rampant cinephilia (F.W. Murnau being the most important and frequent citation). A bit all over the place, the film lacks the heartbreaking conviction of Before the Revolution, but it soars with manic, runaway energy. 105 min. In Italian with subtitles. (JR)

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