Musical Blending and Altruistic Surrender in Bertolucci's Besieged (1999)

Abstract

Derived from the Boccacio tale of Diamora and Ansaldo, Bertolucci's elegant chamber work Besieged involves a British piano teacher who falls in love with a young African medical student who lives in and cleans his house. When he learns that she is married to a political prisoner in Africa, he sells his artwork in response to a challenge to ransom the husband from prison. Of this unconventional love story, Bertolucci said that the film represents Cocteau's adage, “There is no love, there is only proof of love.” It ends with her struggling with choosing between the two men in a beguiling ambiguity. The discussion explores many aspects of altruism within a love relationship.