Artscapes: Creative minds, artistic pursuits and inventive filmmaking
In 1971, at the world premiere of Death in Venice, Italian director Luchino Visconti proclaimed Björn Andrésen, the film's teen star, to be "the most beautiful boy in the world." The moniker made him famous as an adolescent—an idealized erotic fantasy and the prototype for Japanese manga—and unmade him as an adult. But the story of a young man, thrust into the spotlight thanks to his iconic good looks, pales in interest compared to his life off-screen. Looking back 50 years later, Andrésen revisits his past and displays the trauma of objectification and fame in his everyday behaviours. This evocative backstory, told with respect and restraint, documents his excesses and negligence without criticism, and lets his admissions and omissions speak for themselves. Revisiting his most formative moments, including the screen test that started it all, Andrésen's personal history is presented as a cinematic circularity, without ending or beginning, destiny or self-determination. Angie Driscoll
Artscapes program sponsored by
MEDIA COVERAGE
- Film Threat - "A candid look at the unpredictable nature of fame and fortune, along with its consequences"