the boy's beauty


at the end as he was standing in the water arms outstretched, gesturing toward the horizon. ok, so it was supposed to be beautiful and the protagonist finally sees beauty before he dies, ok, i got all of that.

but couldn't there be some subtext as well? that his pursuit for beauty was ultimately moot? so what if he found beauty? there's beauty everywhere, afterall.

if the boy was so perfect, could he not imagine him being ugly? what if he was injured and his face was burned? what if as he was standing in the water at the end, he suddenly dropped a deuce?

i don't get this obsession with beauty. maybe he should just take a photo of the boy and masturbate to it or something.

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I'm an artist. I do understand the obsession with beauty. It wasn't just about sex. So the photo and the mastubation would not have solved the problem.








"great minds think differently"

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I am definitely in the senior citizen catagory, but when I saw that young, beautiful boy's face, I had to catch my breath. I know exactly how Gustave felt and it wasn't sexual. It was the bedazzlement one feels when in the presence of perfect beauty. Gender doesn't matter, age doesnt matter, but only the very young have that purity of feature that captures your eyes and won't set you free. This boy had had plenty of admiration from others. He was very aware of the adoration he inspired and he used his beauty to lure and tease those suseptible to his charms. Notice his choice of provocative clothing and hairstyle. Poor Gustave didn't stand a chance. He was doomed from the moment he saw him and even though he was frustrated and confused at his feelings, he only felt content when he had Tazio in his sight. And Tazio led him on and on and on.

Another poster posed the suggestion that Tazio was the Angel of Death, a temptation that taxed Gustave's bad heart as he followed him in the stifling heat of Venice. I could buy that interpretation.

Either way, Gustave was doomed from the time he left Germany. He was sick then and getting sicker every day. I like to think that this beautiful boy made Gustave's last weeks happier than he had been before he came to Venice. Even as he died his last sight on earth was one of perfect beauty.

Well that's part of my take on this haunting movie. Haunting because of my age maybe, but I would watch anything with Dirk Bogarde in it and find it fascinating!

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Nah, Tadzio was a pretty boy, but for me any girl can kick his skinny ass in the looks department, so it must be a sexual thing, I mean, if you like boys you'd find Tadzio breathtaking, if you like girls....not so much. Of course the search for beauty is something really subjective, just like the personal iterpretation of beauty of each individual. Beauty is as subjective as music, but that doesn't change the sexual orientation spectre one belongs too. Aschenbach was definitely gay at least to some degree. It doesn't have much to do with Tadzio, it has more to do with Aschenbach and his preferences of beauty, just like his preferences for music , art, you name it.




now this is acting: http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2458172160/tt1528718

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very good point hr. plus he was goofy looking

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I think it should be easy for almost anyone to find him beautiful whether they're attracted to him or not. I had the sense that he also had a lot of very artfully applied make-up meant to make him look as much girl as boy. That sort of androgynous beauty is timeless, and you see it in everything from ancient Greek art to runway/underwear models today.

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You say in one breath that the search for beauty is really subjective, personal and individual yet in the next make the definitive statement "If you like boys you'd find Tadzio breathtaking, if you like girls....not so much." Mmmkay.

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I agree. Though the actor who played Tadzio had an effeminate kindb of beauty, there are plenty who far exceeded his looks especially young Brooke Shields, Alain Delon, or Ralph Macchio in the 1dt Karate Kid film.

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I can understand the obsession with beauty, but I don't really know how to answer your question.

I think its representative of the fact that artists strive to find and represent beauty, but beauty is constantly evading them. You can draw a picture or write a poem and never capture the essence of the beauty you are depicting. It is the obsession of the artist because its what drives them; they find beautiful things but can never quite 'catch' them. I think the final reach out before his death was representative of that.

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The young man had the perfect blend of androgenous beauty,a real stunner and the longer hair helped.I too was adrogenous when I was younger and the look attracts many straight men and woman,as well.But also brings danger.

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Well said!

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