Bernardo Bertolucci’s La Luna: A polarizing collision of Freudian drama and operatic excess

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Released in 1979, this Italian-American drama remains one of cinema’s most divisive experiments. By blending a troubled teenager’s descent into addiction with an intense, taboo-laden bond between mother and son, the film provoked extreme reactions from critics and censors alike, leaving a legacy that ranges from artistic praise to outright condemnation.

Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, the film follows Caterina Silveri, a celebrated opera star, and her son, Joe. After the sudden death of her husband, Douglas, in New York, Caterina moves to Italy, hoping to rescue Joe from a downward spiral of heroin addiction and dangerous social circles. The narrative centers on her desperate, unconventional attempts to reconnect with her son, culminating in a controversial scene where she attempts to soothe his withdrawal symptoms through physical intimacy.

The film’s reception was starkly split. Critics like Roger Ebert famously criticized the director for forcing a soap opera narrative to collide with a Freudian case study. Conversely, writer Angela Carter championed Jill Clayburgh’s portrayal of Caterina, describing her performance as a powerful, life-affirming force. Others were far less forgiving; in his 1979 diary, Andrei Tarkovsky dismissed the work as vulgar and cheap. Today, the film holds a 50% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, reflecting its status as a polarizing piece of art.

Beyond the critical discourse, the film faced real-world suppression. In 1980, Abdalá Bucaram, then a major general in the Guayaquil police, enforced a ban on the film in Ecuador, shuttering theaters that dared to screen it. Despite this initial censorship, the movie eventually aired on national television without incident. The project was dedicated to Franco Arcalli, a frequent collaborator of the director who passed away during the film's early development stages.

The resolution of the story brings the family together under the guise of an operatic performance. Joe eventually encounters his biological father, Giuseppe, a schoolteacher, without initially revealing his true identity. By the film's end, the father learns the truth, and the family finds a fragile sense of closure as Caterina delivers a career-defining performance. It remains a complex, often uncomfortable exploration of family dynamics, identity, and the lengths to which a parent might go to save a child.

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