Besieged

Bertolucci and co-writer Clare Peploe seem intent on deconstructing the story's interesting elements at every turn, substituting woolliness for clarity, atmospherics for real emotion and an often condescending, armchair-liberal naivete for real political

It's a film about the limits of art, about civilization at this moment of flux, and about a gentle connection between a man and a woman.

This is a deeply engrossing, often exquisite film by someone who knows visuals. It's sensory, sensual, handmade.

Made for Italian TV, this modestly scaled, intimate drama about the relationship between a British musician and his African housekeeper is well acted by Thandie Newton and David Thewlis.