That Bernardo Bertolucci will go down as a cinematic legend is without question; the wheelchair-bound 73-year-old likely doesn’t have too many films left in him, and while his enthusiasm and work ethic are an inspiration, we can’t wholeheartedly endorse “Me And You.” It’s his first film in nine years, which is an event unto itself, and for those not down with explosions and spandex this summer, it’s at least a reprieve from the artless noise of popcorn movies.
After premiering Out Of Competition at the Cannes Film Festival last spring, the first trailer for “Me And You” has arrived and it in large part dispenses with dialogue to try and evoke feeling through imagery and cinematic tableaux instead. For the most part it works, we suppose. The story follows 14-year-old Lorenzo (Jacopo Olmo Antinori) who bails on a class trip to spend some time by himself in the largely unused storage space/basement where he lives, away from the prying eyes of his family. He gets a rude awakening when his 25-year-old junkie half-sister Olivia (Tea Falco) shows up, looking to go cold turkey and detox. Over the next 90 minutes or so they bicker, grow closer, learn stuff and whatnot.
We wrote that the movie is “a minor effort at best, and disappointingly lacking a sense of energy or intent” but soundtrack aficionados will want to take note that it includes “Boys Don’t Cry” by The Cure, “Rebellion (Lies)” from Arcade Fire and two versions — one Italian and one English — of David Bowie‘s “Space Oddity.” The movie opens on April 19th in theaters and On Demand in the U.K. No stateside distribution yet. Watch below.