Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
In 1940s Venice, after twenty years' marriage, retired art critic Nino Rolfe and his younger wife Teresa feel their passion waning. To help her shed her inhibitions and rekindle their relationship, the professor records his sexual fantasies in a diary.
Tinto Brass's adaptation of Junichiro Tanizaki's novel transplants the story to wartime Venice, but the resulting film is more notable for its erotic set pieces than narrative cohesion. The plot is thin and meandering, relying heavily on the diary conceit to drive what little story exists. Acting is competent—Stefania Sandrelli brings genuine presence and Frank Finlay is serviceable—but the performances are constrained by the material's exploitation priorities. Cinematography captures Venice with some elegance, though Brass's visual style here is less inventive than his better work. Novelty is limited; the film occupies well-trodden erotic-drama territory and, despite its literary source, doesn't distinguish itself within the genre. The ending attempts a darkly ironic twist consistent with Tanizaki's fatalistic sensibility but lands with modest impact given the film's overall shallowness.