Drama 1991-2000 Arthouse Italy Marco Bellocchio

Marco Bellocchio – Il Sogno della Farfalla AKA The Dream of the Butterfly (1994)

adminJanuary 4, 2021

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The third and final collaboration between Marco Bellocchio and controversial pyschotherapist Massimo Faggioli following Il Diavolo in Corpo (1986) and La Condanna (1991). Despite being selected as an official entry in Cannes, some award nominations (which it won for its cinematography) and admiration in a few quarters, the film was condemned by the majoriry of critics who lamented Bellocchio’s talents being wasted by the pretentious Faggioli. Usually considered Bellocchio’s worst film, Il Sogno della Farfalla is undeniably well made and does contain some haunting imagery. Bibi Andersson is cast as the mother in an homage to Persona (the plot of which is the inspiration for Il Sogno della Farfalla) and Roberto Herlitzka (as the father) would receive high praise for his later collaboration with Bellocchio in Buongiorno, Notte. We also get a staging of The Prince of Homburg, which would become Bellocchio’s next feature film and for many, a welcome return to form. Never released on DVD, the file comes from a VHS rip found on the internet.