In the 1970s, the Classical Hollywood that depended much on the studio was declining, giving way to a new generation of filmmakers. Classical Hollywood was slowly declining and rapidly losing money, the studios were being sold out to large corporations, and many studios were making seldom making any commercial success. Another movement in the film making industry came out to take the Classical Hollywood’s place by bringing more relevance in the filmmaking industry. This new movement that started in early 1970 was called the New Hollywood movement. This movement was more relevant and created more value in the filmmaking industry, thus bringing the change many anticipated.
There are many movies and films produced during this era. One of the most notable films of this era is The Last Tango in Paris. This is a 1972 erotic drama film directed by Bernado Bertolucci (Kline, 1976). The film portrays a recently widowed American woman who starts an erotic and anonymous sexual relationship with a young Parisian woman. A middle-aged American man called Paul is mourning the suicide of his wife, Rosa. He meets a Parisian woman named Jeanne and starts a romantic relationship at an apartment that both intended to rent. They start a sexual relationship but promises each other anonymity. Without Jeanne’s knowledge, Paul packs and leaves, later they meet on the streets, Paul begs Jeanne to rekindle the relationship, but Jeanne refuses. Paul follows her to her apartment, where he rapes her. Jeanne shoots him. Paul staggers out onto the balcony, severely wounded and collapses, he dies. Jeanne mutters to herself that Paul was a stranger who tried to rape her; she was probably preparing how to answer police interrogation questions.
Last Tango in Paris is an exceptional film from the New Hollywood era that encompasses the characteristics of this era. New Hollywood films often featured themes like sexual freedom, erotic relationships, and rock music that were deemed counter-cultural. In the Last Tango in Paris, the main theme of sexual freedom and erotic sexual relationships make the film fit the New Hollywood films. The New Hollywood films were made to be popular with young people by showcasing or discussing issues that were more relevant to the youths of that time. The popularity of these films with young people sowed the importance of thematic and artistic values. Another essential characteristic of New Hollywood films is that they were presented in a linear narrative. It is vital to understand that the films focused much on the plot, character development, and setting (Hunter, 2016). The linear narrative in the movie Last Tango in Paris is seen in the way the film’s story is presented in a logical manner by telling what happens from one point in time to the next without using flashbacks or flash-forwards and then returning to the present. In essence, linear narrative, unlike nonlinear narrative, is not disjointed or disrupted in any way; it smoothly logically shows events from one to the other. Besides the seventies, narratives like the Last Tango in Paris placed an uncommon emphasis on irresolution, particularly at the moment of climax or in the epilogue, unlike the conventional Hollywood films that had loose ends. Finally, one of the distinctive characteristics of New Hollywood movies is its prevalence to end in suspense. Like in the Last Tango in Paris uses suspense when Jeanne shoots Paul, but the film ends in suspense because we are not shown where Jeanne ends.