DOC SPOT
The Most Beautiful Boy in the World (15)
(SWEDEN/2021) 93 minutes
DIRECTED BY
Kristina Lindström & Kristian Petri
STARRING
Björn Andresen|Luchino Visconti
IT WOULD BE HARD not to be curious about how things turned out for Björn Andresen, who played the boy, Tadzio, in Luchino Visconti's 1971 film Death in Venice. He was dubbed by Visconti 'the most beautiful boy in the world' and became an overnight sensation when the film was released half a century ago. His fifteen-year-old face is probably still one of the most recognisable, but what happened after the film crew packed up and the film festival junkets were over?
Andresen has quipped that his film career started at the top and could only go down from there, but what was this career? He's not been in the public eye for a long time.
This documentary by Kristina Lindström & Kristian Petri takes us back to 1970 when Andresen was discovered by Visconti in his lengthy search for a suitable boy to pique the interest of composer Gustav von Aschenbach - to be played by A-lister Dirk Bogarde.
We see the screen-test for the film and his uneasy journey to the status of worldwide celebrity and back to normality. In the present day, Andresen is haunted (and looks haunted) by his past and the monumental changes to his life that followed his appearance in Visconti's film. Andresen's mental anguish seems just as deep as that of Aschenbach himself, but just occasionally we can catch the Tadzio smile and see the boy again.
Ideally, come to see both films: Death in Venice on Monday and this film on Wednesday. They make a perfect pair.
11 May 2022 WEDNESDAY 19:30
Playhouse Main Screen