Italian director Valerio Ruiz pays moving tribute to revolutionary Lina Wertmüller
POINTS 8
Average documentaries on famous artists are, more often than not, mostly didactic as they merely go over their oeuvre and provide a good deal of information so that you get to know the basics. Good documentaries go a step further since they provide quite a detailed background, pay attention to more specific, relevant aspects of their persona and works, and sometimes even cast some sort of a personal gaze upon the artist. And then you have very good documentaries that not only manage to achieve all the above at once, but also shine a shimmering spotlight on unknown traits that make their subject one of a kind. In addition, they are accomplished cinematic pieces that have a personal way of caring for the artist portrayed.
Written and directed by Italian Valerio Ruiz, Behind the White Glasses is more than a fine example of the latter category. It stands out from the crowd not only because of its multifaceted subject, but also because of its spontaneous approach. It’s a pleasure to watch and a moving homage to the artist it’s devoted to.
Featured at last year’s Venice Film Festival, it’s about none other than the revolutionary Lina Wertmüller, the first woman in the world to receive a nomination for the Academy Award as best director for her cinematic masterpiece, the mind-blowing Seven Beauties (Pasqualino Settebellezze, 1975). Before that, she’d helmed the groundbreaking Mimì metallurgico (1972), then the passionate Love and Anarchy (1973), and soon after the torrid Swept Away (1974).
Broadly speaking, you could say that Ruiz’s feature is a chronicle of the highlights in Wertmuller’s life and career. One that includes interviews with artists who worked with her in many regards, such as actors Harvey Keitel, Giancarlo Giannini, Sophia Loren, Nastassja Kinski, Rutger Hauer, singer Rita Pavone, and film critic John Simon — among others. It also features a string of scenes from some of her most celebrated movies, never-seen-before archive material and photos taken in Cinecittà when she was Federico Fellini’s assistant director in 8 1/2, as well as songs written by Wertmüller. Yet Behind the White Glasses is more than the sum of its parts.
Because what matters the most in an auteur documentary is how the documentary maker achieves a certain personal feeling, an air of familiarity to invest their object of desire with. And Valerio Ruiz, who was Wertmüller’s assistant director and very close collaborator, seems to feel so much affection for her that he can effortlessly bring the best out of her reminiscences, idiosyncrasy, joie de vivre, and sense of irony and grotesque — and not by resorting to broad strokes, but to details that speak volumes.
A wise woman who says she never bought the whole affair of being successful because failure can also be a great professor that encourages you to do better next time, Lina Wertmüller doesn’t strike a pose like many divas would. Such down-to-earth attitude and connection with reality is perfectly exposed in many snippets of Ruiz’s lucid interviews. Not that he’s after building the portrayal of a woman with no flaws for he’s certainly not. After all, Wertmüller’s stubbornness and occasional explosive temper is also more than hinted at.
Now in her 80s and as vital as though she were in her 30s, and after having worked in the realms of cinema, TV, and music, with more than 30 features under her belt, the greatest female film director ever has her mind set on making new films — you can even see a script for Swept Away Again among her papers, while she’s typing. In the meantime, you can also see again the ones you like the most or discover the ones you haven’t seen yet. For creating the desire in viewers to do so is another merit to credit Behind the White Glasses with.
Production notes
Detrás de los anteojos blancos / Behind the White Glasses (Italy, 2015). Written, directed, and produced by Valerio Ruiz. Music: Lucio Gregoretti. Cinematography: Giuseppe Pignone. Editing: Pierluigi Leonardi. Production design: Virginia Vianello. Running time: 112 minutes. Limited release : Bama Cine Arte - Atlas Patio Bullrich - Arte Multiplex - Belgrano Multiplex - Arteplex Del Parque.
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