The Belly of an Architect

The Belly of an Architect

Infobox Film
name = The Belly of an Architect


caption = DVD cover
director = Peter Greenaway
producer =
writer = Peter Greenaway
narrator =
starring = Brian Dennehy
Chloe Webb
music = Wim Mertens
cinematography = Sacha Vierny
editing = John Wilson
distributor = Hemdale Film Corporation
released = 1987
runtime = 120 min.
country = U.K. / Italy
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:4779
imdb_id = 0092637

"The Belly of an Architect" is a 1987 film directed by Peter Greenaway, featuring original music by Glenn Branca and Wim Mertens.

The movie stars Brian Dennehy and Chloe Webb and contains numerous references to the work of the 18th century French architect Étienne-Louis Boullée. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987.

The film's protagonist Stourley Kracklite (Dennehy) has been commissioned to construct an exhibition in Rome dedicated to the architecture of Boullée. However, doubts arise among his Italian colleagues to the legitimacy of Boullée among the pantheon of famed architects, perhaps because Boullée was an inspiration for Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler's architect Albert Speer. Furthermore, Kracklite's marriage quickly dissolves along with his health.

Kracklite's physical and social ruin in some way corresponds to the decline of his idol Boullée, who remained relatively forgotten until the twentieth century. The character of Kracklite himself becomes obsessed with the historical Caesar Augustus after hearing that Livia, the wife of Augustus, supposedly poisoned him. Kracklite assumes that his own wife has tried to do the same due to his increasing stomach pains.

Director Greenaway's visual technique heightens Kracklite's alienation. There are few close-up shots of the other actors beside Dennehy, who himself is dwarfed by the dominance of the Roman architecture surrounding him. Greenaway's trade-mark historical reenactments also compose a major theme: many visual images of the film appear to replicate major 18th century works of painting and architecture. In addition there are subtle references to Isaac Newton and the law of gravity, perhaps alluding to Kracklite's own inability to escape the physical laws of mortality.

References

External links

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*amg title|id=1:4779|title=The Belly of an Architect


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