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The Belly of an Architect
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The Belly of an Architect

1987
Drama
1h 59m
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Avg Percentile 60.93% from 233 total ratings

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(233)
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Rated 24 Jul 2007
75
75th
It's odd watching a Greenaway film with a score by someone other than Michael Nyman, but I actually enjoyed Wim Mertens' music in this film. The film itself is good in the usual encyclopeadic-Greenaway fashion, but it is not Greenaway's best.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
74
50th
Not among Greenaway's best, but not bad. The worst you can say about it is that it isn't nearly as dense as Greenaway's finest work, and seems rather one-note throughout much of it. But there are intriguing elements, particularly in the repeated references to the compartmentalization of the body. And Dennehy is quite good. Vierny's photography is glorious as always, again highlighting Greenaway's love of symmetry and voluminous detail. Chloe Webb is awful, though.
Rated 07 Jul 2012
91
75th
The contrasts between sex and death, art and architecture, passion and legacy, symmetry and form all play a complex role. Boullée is the perfect study since practically no one has heard of him. (It is said that he inspired Hitler's architect, Albert Speer.) In this sense he represents the perfect object for Stourley's obsession, which begins to eat away at his health and his relationship with his wife. It's not Greenaway's finest work, but I particularly enjoyed the score by Branca & Mertens.
Rated 15 Jul 2014
73
78th
Less successful at merging the avantgarde with the accessible than The Cook, The Thief.......Belly risks being stranded in no man's land; it's too hermetic for outsiders, but too conventional for Greenaway nuts. Parodoxically, it winds up being his most straight forward film from the period as well as his most ambiguous. The signal to noise ratio is out of whack, but it's anchored adeptly by Dennehy's marvellous performance and the usual formal elegance.
Rated 02 Feb 2011
50
23rd
Despite the ridiculously interesting title, "The Belly Of An Architect" is a tiring and incomprehensible film: it's two hours long, there are very few close-ups and its pacing is desperately slow in the first part. It builds up during the last half but never becomes better than just decent. I mean, OK, Dennehy is great and the score by Wim Mertens is absolutely excellent (especially the piece "Struggle For Pleasure") but these are the only two sensible reasons one would watch this.
Rated 30 Nov 2011
71
74th
Obviously beautiful, and chained to it's own symbolism and symmetry.
Rated 02 Jan 2012
71
59th
Obviously beautiful, and chained to it's own symbolism and symmetry.
Rated 10 Mar 2013
79
66th
Imitating the art and architecture it adoringly captures, this film is laden with symbolism and subtext, yet retains a simple and classical narrative. Greenaway is perhaps the perfect director to pay homage to Rome and its amazing sights - the indoor sets and decor he creates are no less stunning than the Pantheon or the Piazza di Spagna. Dennehy's corpulent American, in discomfort amidst a bevy of slimy Italians, is also a nice tip of the hat to the giallo genre. A rich tapestry to consume.
Rated 05 Nov 2014
89
98th
Fantastic Wim Mertens score makes this movie.
Rated 14 Jun 2015
66
64th
One of the most attractive films about Rome, with Greenaway's patented deep focus and symmetric framing capturing grand architectural beauty. These open, breezy images alone give life to a very self-absorbed conceit. What it would need is some melancholy for its humorless, baroque existentialism to work. You know, La Grande Bellezza and such.
Rated 12 Oct 2019
70
56th
slow clap for this augustus
Rated 17 Apr 2020
93
92nd
Em honra do grande Brian Dennehy (1938 - 2020): "I've made lots of movies but only one film.". https://letterboxd.com/ladyspiggott/film/the-belly-of-an-architect/
Rated 05 Feb 2021
91
94th
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxOPD-wYUWg&themeRefresh=1 (trailer I made). Excuse the poor upload quality and audio levels
Rated 01 Sep 2023
92
90th
Visually captivating, from the vast cityscapes of Rome to the dark and gloomy interiors, each scene seems to be dripping in atmosphere. So much symbolism it's impossible to unpack, even the repeating glowing green lights seem to hint at something else, perhaps Kracklite's own envy of the other man's youth. Got to add the film score is incredible too, powerful without being encroaching. Have to see more from Greenaway.

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