The Spider's Stratagem

"Wine is like a man: it can have flaws and still be pleasing."

Bernardo Bertolucci made The Spider's Stratagem (1970) just after completing The Conformist, though it didn't receive a fraction of the acclaim. It's a beautifully shot, somewhat strained allegory of cultural heroism, presented with maximum pretension.

Athos Magnani (Giulio Brogi) arrives in the small town of Tara, seeking the truth about his deceased father (also played by Brogi). The senior Magnani was executed by Mussolini's fascists in the late '30s for his role in a ...