Being Maria turns the lens on cinema’s treatment of women through Maria Schneider’s story

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Being Maria is based on the true story of Maria Schneider (Anamaria Vartolomei, Happening, AF FFF22), who 19 at the time, is forced into the spotlight because of the now infamous Bernardo Bertolucci (Giuseppe Maggio) film Last Tango in Paris, in which she starred opposite Marlon Brando (Matt Dillon). An aggressive rape scene isn’t scripted and is forced on her by Brando and Bertolucci leaving her humiliated and scarred for the rest of her life.

That film also leaves Maria being typecast in nude roles: “no one wants me clothed”, and heckled by men and abused by women wherever she goes. To add injury to insult, she, alongside Brando and Bertolucci, is charged by the Italian courts for having “concurred to produce an obscene spectacle” and faces 2 months imprisonment.

Maria Schneider was one of the first actresses to speak out about her treatment, decades before the #MeToo movement. Her claims of being taken by surprise, of the scene not being scripted, of films being made by men for men, were all ignored.

The script is based on the book by Vanessa Schneider My Cousin Maria Schneider and director Jessica Palud’s own experience with Bernardo Bertolucci. In an interview in the press materials, Palud says of her time as an intern on Bertolucci’s The Dreamers and as an assistant director on sets: “Even a decade ago, there were few women on set. I was often the youngest and always surrounded by men. I witnessed complicated scenes, actors and actresses humiliated, and I myself felt the control some directors abused. I experienced situations that today I would describe as abnormal, without being able to express myself.” It was adapted and written by Jessica Palud and Laurette Polmanss.

The film is beautifully directed by Jessica Palud (Welcome, AF FFF 2020). Anamaria Vartolomei gives a powerful, raw and vulnerable portrayal of Maria Schneider. She is transformed into Maria so much so that we feel we could be watching a documentary about Maria’s life (without her needing to look exactly like her).

It was surprising to see American Matt Dillon in a French film, but he was perfectly suited to the role of American actor Marlon Brando. Giuseppe Maggio plays the perverted Director well. Céleste Brunnquell (The Origin of Evil, AF FFF 2023, and the series In Therapy) plays Noor, a young university student who is drawn into Maria’s orbit, and becomes a saviour of sorts. It’s great to see her in more and more roles.

Being Maria is a powerful film about Maria Schneider’s treatment during the filming of Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris and the detrimental effect that treatment and the film had on the rest of her life. It’s a film that will make you ponder the role of women in cinema, and the lasting effects of a role on an actor/actress’ life.

4 CROISSANTS

Matilda Marseillaise watched a screener of the film.

KEY INFO FOR THE ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE FILM FESTIVAL 2025

WHAT: Alliance Française French Film Festival 2025

WHERE & WHEN:

19/03 – 23/04 – ADELAIDE
06/03 – 08/04 – BRISBANE
06/03 – 02/04 – BALLARAT, VIC
08/03 – 02/04 – BALLINA, NSW
11/03 – 13/03 – BENDIGO, VIC
07/03 – 02/04 – BYRON BAY, NSW
06/03 – 09/04 – CANBERRA
25/03 – 15/04 – GOLD COAST
03/04 – 13/04 – HOBART
05/03 – 09/04 – MELBOURNE
03/04 – 06/04 – MOUNT GAMBIER, SA
13/03 – 16/04 – PERTH
26/03 – 31/03 – RENMARK, SA
04/03 – 09/04 – SYDNEY
02/04 – 09/04 – VICTOR HARBOR, SA
04/03 – 06/04 – PARRAMATTA, NSW
10/04 – 13/04 – BUNBURY, WA
12/04 – 21/04 – WARRAWONG, NSW