CARAVAGGIO (1986)

Country: U.K.

Genre(s): Art Film / Drama

Director: Derek Jarman

Cast: Nigel Terry / Michael Gough / Sean Bean

Plot

On his deathbed, sixteenth and seventeenth century painter Michelangelo da Caravaggio reflects on a life of art, corruption, and decadence.

What I Liked

Well, at least now I know where the inspiration for R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” video came from; this movie, or at the very least from its subject.

That little anecdote aside, "Caravaggio" is mainly concerned with the relationship between commerce and creativity.  The juxtaposition of styles and technologies from different eras is the aspect of this movie which will stand out most to viewers.  Automobiles, calculators, jazz music, and modern tuxedos are inserted into a setting that is otherwise circa 1600.  Clearly this is director/co-writer Derek Jarman’s way of letting us know that he’s not just making a period piece, but commenting on today’s world as well.  The modern insertions typically happen during parts of the story that accompany some kind of artifice’s superseding of art.

Jarman does a nice job in these scenes in particular of showing the difference (or lack thereof) between those on the high rungs of the social ladder and those on the low ones, with Caravaggio the one repeatedly ascending and descending that ladder to suit his own needs.   To maintain his lifestyle and continue to paint, he lives off of the patronage of the wealthy and powerful, while he passes their money along to the street people he uses for models and inspiration.  By illustrating through his film, Jarman in his own way captures the very essence of much of Caravaggio’s own artwork, as he often used prostitutes and lowlifes as models for sacred or revered individuals like the Madonna or the saints. In both the real man’s work and the film about his life, the veil between the holy and the profane is easily lifted.

What I Didn’t Like

For all its artistic audacity, “Caravaggio” is neither interesting nor moving.  Which ultimately means it is not really worth the hour and a half spent watching it.

Most Memorable Scene

That thin separation between the supposedly morally proper classes and the lower classes in this movie is most violated during a party scene that accompanies a viewing of Caravaggio’s work by the elite of Roman society.  Caravaggio brings some of his models to the party, dressed magnificently and prepared to seduce the artist’s patrons.  What ensues is a temporary suspension of the segregation of society that, while never fully bacchanalian, nonetheless points out that, were it not for manners and clothes, the souls of the supposedly pious rulers are indistinguishable from those of their more profane underlings.

My Rating: 2.5 out of 5