Sunday, March 25, 2012

Savage Messiah (1972)


MGM
Directed by Ken Russell
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)

Henri Gaudier is a young artist-type in Paris, rebelling against everything around him, including art. He meets a Polish writer twice his age and the two begin a life-long friendship. Desperately poor, they go to London when he gets offered a real job. However, they continue to live in squalor in the London underground railway system. He takes up sculpting to impress an art dealer, and it soon becomes an obsession. Helen Mirren is one of his models, who sings in a nightclub and walks around naked. Meanwhile, war at home in France calls him to volunteer and he is tragically killed. Gaudier's energy is inexhaustible, although his antics can be juvenile at times his talent is undeniable. Scott Antony give a magnificent performance, it's a wonder he did not go on to a better career, virtually disappearing after only a handful of films.

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