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Rating

Genres

Documentary , History

Age rating

M

Director

Cast

Synopsis

In 1971, due to the world premiere of Death in Venice, Italian director Lucino Visconti proclaimed his Tadzio as the world’s most beautiful boy. A shadow that today, 50 years later, weighs Björn Andrésen’s life.

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Trailer

In 1971, during the world premiere of Death in Venice in London, Björn Andrésen was labelled "The Most Beautiful Boy in the World" by Italian director Luchino Visconti. 50 years later, Björn looks back at his time being thrust to international stardom for his iconic looks.

• 79 %Rotten
  tomatoes®

• Directed by Kristina Lindström

2021Rating: CTC93 minsSwedenMantaray Film

The Most Beautiful Boy in the World | Release Details

The Most Beautiful Boy in the World is available to stream in Australia now on DocPlay.

I feel like this documentary's thesis statement is "Being cast in Death in Venice ruined Björn Andrésen's life" - at least, that's the sense I got from the trailer, how it was marketed and how it ended.

Maybe that's true - but I feel it is too light on information to convincingly make that argument. It briefly covers his experience being cast in the movie and filming it as well as some of what happened afterward, but in excruciatingly vague detail. They mention he was taken to gay nightclubs - but not if he was assaulted. Then he spent time as an idol in Japan - but nothing about the result or effect of that. And some time in Paris where he was apparently given money and an apartment - but it's not made clear if there was a sexual relationship there. He does make it clear that he was in Paris willingly and an adult at the time though.

It's not that I'm desperate for salacious details, I just feel that if you're trying to make a case for how much the experience harmed him, you're doing a disservice by omitting that information. And if there wasn't actually assault/molestation I think it's wrong to let the implication that there might have been linger over the whole thing.

Of course even without the potential sexual abuse angle, being famous that young and without good guidance in your life can be really challenging, it's something we've seen in many modern day contemporaries like Justin Bieber, Britney Spears. But I feel like the film lacks supporting anecdotes/evidence in this area. It attempts to portray his time in Japan as harmful but he seems to be on great terms with the people from his past during that time when they are interviewed. Those people aren't really pressed much at all on if what they did to him was wrong/harmful.

It skips over the vast majority of his adult life, except to cover that he had children and a relationship (maybe marriage?) at some point. He briefly mentions that he acted in other things. He mentioned he wanted to play music, but it doesn't really cover if he pursued that in a meaningful way. There's a very brief blip about him being in Midsommar. How does he make money? Is he retired? Has he been to therapy to deal with any of this? So many things left unanswered.

The movie is interspersed with clips from present day, where he seems to struggle with basic tasks like keeping a clean living space and is maybe a (functional) alcoholic and his relationship with his on and off again girlfriend and he revisits the now abandoned hotel where the movie was shot and goes back to Japan. By the end it has devolved to long shots of him brooding by the ocean.

I'm aware that by reviewing this documentary I am commenting on a real person's life, and I am not trying to invalidate any of his experiences. Björn has experienced a lot of tragedy and trauma. I just don't feel like this works well as a documentary the way it was intended to.

Instead, seeing Björn as an old man working through his regrets reminds me of Gustav von Aschenbach. In the original work, I always thought that part of what fueled his obsession with Tadzio was the desire to be young again. Attraction to the endless possibility of youth, before all the doors start closing.

I'd still say this documentary is worth watching if you are familiar with the source material.

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