A dying blind man, his maybe-lover, and a toreador walk into Spain. Nobody leaves unchanged.
Though he is near death, blind Rene, an elderly Italian-French intellectual, continues to make his annual conference abroad accompanied by his self-centered loyal, beautiful assistant Sibilla who may or may not be his lover. Rene's domineering mother strongly disapproves of Sibilla and his continual galavanting, but Rene disregards her and goes anyway. While in Spain, Sibilla falls for a handsome young toreador who also captures the interest of Rene, though it is hard to say whether his feelings for the bullfighter are fatherly or more romantic. It is also unclear as to whether Sibilla and the bullfighter are lovers either. Thus an enigmatic romantic triangle forms until Rene and Sibilla suddenly decide to wed. The character of Rene seems to be closely patterned after Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges.
Acting
Claude Rich's blind gaze that somehow sees everything.
Cinematography
Sun-drenched Spanish landscapes against encroaching darkness.
Director
Fabio Carpi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The title nods to Joyce's 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' — here the artist faces creation not through awakening but through senescence and erotic confusion.
Borges himself went blind and wrote obsessively about labyrinths, doubles, and unrequited forms of love; Carpi reportedly consulted Borges's widow before filming.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
IT
