The film begins not with taboo, but with tragedy. The narrative follows Caterina (Jill Clayburgh), a famous American opera singer touring Italy, and her teenage son Joe (Matthew Barry). The sudden death of Caterina’s husband shatters their insulated world, stripping away the paternal buffer that had maintained the distance between mother and son. Bertolucci masterfully uses the setting of Rome—a city steeped in history and decay—to mirror the internal crumbling of the characters. Caterina’s grief is narcissistic and performative, while Joe’s is directionless and destructive. It is this vacuum of structure that leads to the film’s central conflict: a blurred boundary where the mother attempts to save her son through an inappropriate transgression of bodily autonomy.
was highly controversial due to its depiction of incest. While critics praised Jill Clayburgh’s fearless performance and Vittorio Storaro’s stunning cinematography, many found the subject matter difficult to stomach. Today, it is viewed as a bold, if polarizing, entry in Bertolucci’s filmography—a companion piece to his earlier works like Last Tango in Paris Availability on OK.ru The film is frequently hosted on OK.ru (Odnoklassniki) la luna 1979 movie okru
La Luna, directed by the acclaimed Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci, is a poignant and visually stunning film released in 1979. The movie tells the story of a complex and intimate relationship between a mother, Susanna (played by Claudia Cardinale), and her 20-year-old son, Mauro (played by Massimo Troisi). The film begins not with taboo, but with tragedy
Directed by the legendary Bernardo Bertolucci (1979)—often titled simply Bertolucci masterfully uses the setting of Rome—a city
While La Luna divided critics at the time of its release, with some dismissing it as melodramatic excess, modern retrospective viewing reveals a bold, daring character study. It captures the specific late-70s atmosphere of decadence and spiritual searching. Above all, it features one of Jill Clayburgh’s finest performances, capturing a woman willing to destroy social taboos to protect the child she loves.