woman pee-ing - Stealing Beauty (1996) Discussion

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

I agree with you both. There was no need for this scene in the movie at all - it's one of the reasons why I gave it only 4 stars!

Let the mayhem begin!

reply

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] bodoheil 18 years ago

Yes, its is. Shocking, that is. Disgusting I'm not so sure. But it certainly is out of place because Hollywood tried to have us believe that women but actually people in general do not "cast their water", if you allow me to quote from the Bible, which I do as rarely as possible. T h a t I think is truly outragious. Bertolucci is European and perhaps thence less prone to priggishness, but that is speculation. Not subject to speculation is however the fact that people do need to do this, usually they do it in privacy, but if it is done in such a provoking way we may trust that it is done purposely so. Provocation, if I need to explain, is one good job art is supposed to do and if he art is any good, it does it expertly. Bertolucci seemed to have succeeded in creating worthwhile art here. The film is excellent.

reply

[–] [email protected] 15 years ago

How could you say this film is excellent, when you don't understand this scene?
How could you understand the title? From what planet did you come from?

reply

[–] TriumphReq 10 years ago

I understand this scene (which has multiple reasons) and this movie is excellent. Just because you live trapped in your sheltered, controlled, inexperienced and mindwashed (hint) world and do not understand this scene doesn't mean the movie is not excellent.

reply

[–] stranger_to_youx 18 years ago

And don't forget that a peeing woman or peeing as such rarely or never happens in real life. The act of urinating is so unnatural.. I wonder how did B.B. even come up with it.

reply

[–] star_cinnamon 18 years ago

"And don't forget that a peeing woman or peeing as such rarely or never happens in real life. The act of urinating is so unnatural.. I wonder how did B.B. even come up with it."

no but seriously my point was that the woman degraded herself by peeing in front of other people like an animal. So yes it was disgusting. Urinating of course is a natural act but we have bathrooms or secluded areas for that. Ok if the peeing in front of other people may not disgust you (I'm glad I dont know you personally!) but she peed on the persons floor which is horrible. Imagine waking up the next day after a party and having to clean up another adults p!ss- disgusting and degrading.

reply

[–] cobnut 18 years ago

LOL stranger_to_youx that was a good one ;) As for me, the first time I saw it I was thoroughly grossed out, but now it just blends into the rest of the film- for example the closeup of Lucy drooling on the train, or Alex coughing up onto the floor outside his room, it seems to be a running theme. Bertolucci put those scenes in there for a reason and, evidently, he got the reaction he wanted.
I don't think it's that big a deal, drunk people do a lot of stupid stuff and come on, how many men urinate in public after a night out on the town? Just because they do it up walls and against lamposts doesn't make it any more or less degrading.

reply

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] bdave121 17 years ago

Bilwick1 said:
Last night I had my annual viewing of STEALING BEAUTY and I always fast-forward through the peeing scene. It follows one of my favorite scenes, Carlo and Lucy dancing in the corridor, and it bothers me that I have to watch that scene with my thumb on the FF button and be ready to bail as soon as the drunken woman appears on the scene. I guess the woman was jealous of being displaced by Lucy (or so she incorrectly surmised) and wanted to get back at Carlo by getting Lucy to believe he was into "water sports." Maybe he actually was! But what struck me about the whole peeing thing was that not long after the woman peed on the floor of the corridor, you see that strange troupe of performance artists and some other people dancing their way up that same corridor. I thought: "Nice . . . hope Carlo's servants cleaned up first." Especially since some of the dancers were barefoot

Bdave says:
I just saw the movie, and I did happen to notice one of the barefoot dancers in the corridor doing "The Slip 'N Slide" dance move; "how charming", I thought.

reply

[–] starky_flip420 17 years ago

id have to agree with bilwick. i think it was basically to convey 1stly the woman's disgust 4 carlo but also to disgust lucy as the woman was jealus of her.

i cant help but think the peeing was also a sort of 'hey liberal arts ppl are not afraid to bare all in public' type thing.

funny you should say that.
what's funny?
no. funny you should say that. - 25th hour.

reply

[–] Bilwick1 14 years ago

"i cant help but think the peeing was also a sort of 'hey liberal arts ppl are not afraid to bare all in public' type thing."

I'm a Liberal Arts "ppl" (Liberal arts grad, anyway--or "Liberal Arts dinosaur," if you will) and I have trouble using public restrooms, let alone whipping it out right where other people can watch me.

Unless I'm in the NYC subway, of course. There it's taken for granted.

reply

[–] galluslass 14 years ago

was surprised but wasn't that shocking or overy disgusting. I was actually relieved she was just peeing as I thought she was about to squat on the bottle she put on the floor!

reply

[–] jupiter303 18 years ago

i didnt see all the film and missed this part...but i would imagine it was to break up the movie. too much beauty needs a little dose of reality here and there. nothing in life can be that perfect all the time.

reminds me of someone i know...heh.

reply

[–] gingersnaps1 18 years ago

I can squat out in the woods if I have too. But peeing on someone's floor was a little strange.

Ginger

"Arguing on IMDB is like running in the Special Olympics"

reply

[–] SuggaNSpice13 18 years ago

Good point. And the film is called Stealing Beauty. I imagine this is Bernardo's way of showing how quickly beauty is stolen and how easy it is to switch back and forth from reality to a dream-like state.

reply

[–] ana_t 18 years ago

could this be a tribute to another great italian director, tinto brass? he includes, in what seems every film, a woman that passes water. i believe that it is meant to be erotic. however, in the sense that it is used in stealing beauty, i don't think that it was meant to be erotic. but instead, to show that the man liv wants to believe as her paternal father is less than perfect.

reply

[–] The_Dying_Flutchman 18 years ago

And what do all of you think about Nicole Kidman on the toilet and wiping in Kubrick's final opus?

Nothing exists more beautifully than nothing.

reply

[–] clarenceisagirl 17 years ago

Yes, the film is partly about the underlying things that disgust us or make us feel uncomfortable. Italy is beautiful, the party is beautiful, but then it is stolen from us by having to watch a woman urinate on the floor. Because that's what makes up life. It's like when Lucy says "But it's so beautiful here" and then there's a close up of prostitutes approaching a man on a motorcycle, or the fact they're building a big tv mast in the opposite field. Life might be beautiful, but you've got to take the rough with the smooth.... and sometimes that includes drunk women pissing all over your house!

reply

[–] sphilippot 17 years ago

That's a cool interpretation of it, clarenceisagirl. What I love about this film is that the plot is (beautifully) ambiguous enough that you can interpret it so many different ways.
I'm writing a paper on the film in a cultural studies class, and I've been reading feminist film theory into the scene. My interpretation is that the woman peeing episode is part and parcel with various other instances in the film where women's pleasure is cut short through humilation in order to emphasize male sexual dominance. In this particular scene, Lucy's pleasure of dancing with Carlo is interrupted with a humilating scene (for the drunk woman, but a fellow woman). Other scenes where feminine pleasure is interrupted by embarrassment is when Lucy is about to kiss Niccolo, but then vomits in his lap, as well as when she is about to join the nude swimming party, but she finds out everyone is talking about her virginity. The denial for women contrasts with open invitation for the men to take pleasure out of female beauty. If you're interested in this viewpoint for this and other movies, you can check out the work of Laura Mulvey and her theories about pleasure through looking and narcissism in mainstream cinema.

reply

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] hungrycloud 17 years ago

This movie was made 10 years ago; if anyone has "sunk to such a low level," it would be those preemptively judging a complex film (yet seem quite curious- "is there nudity...").

reply

[–] peterm1 16 years ago

Good lord, what a dreadful bunch of prigs you all are. You must be from the bible belt in USA. A woman pees on the floor when drunk. A little shocking perhaps but presumably its meant to be. To my way of thinking its a lot less shocking than the violence that constantly is rammed down peoples throats in typical Hollywood fare.

reply

[–] lorutmc 15 years ago

Love it. Thanks for this.

reply

[–] jacodes 17 years ago

Welcome to Bertolucci's world. He's a kind of a pervert, check out most of his works as a director and you'll have your answers.

reply

[–] Brr548 17 years ago

wonder if you guys have seen kate winslet in holy smoke-now that is some disgusting peeing,if you found this offensive you wouldnt like her standing naked in the outback peeing all over her own feet i dont think!

reply

[–] indimenticabile 16 years ago

Apparently, there are men all over the world who will pay to have a woman give them "the golden shower". I've also seen a similar scene enacted very powerfully in another movie, "Holy Smoke", where Kate Winslet plays opposite Harvey Keitel in a bravura performance which is all about power roles. From what I've been able to gather, the urination scenario is considered an act of power when the woman urinates in front of, or even on, the man, thereby subjugating or enslaving him in some way. There does seem to be a nebulous boundary regarding for which party it is an act of dominance or subjugation.

Oh, and Sex and the City did a story line a while back involving a similar predilection with one of Carrie's boyfriends, a politician. She was quite shocked, but it would seem many powerful men particularly enjoy this demeaning treatment...ask any high class call girl offering S&M services.

Bertolucci, being Bertolucci, gravitates naturally towards a more "earthy" sensibility than Americans are used to. I think the scene is more complex than just a drunken woman peeing in a hallway. It is like a primal act of submission and yet defiance towards her man, who has abandoned her all night for another woman.

Anyway, if you watch it again and are offended by that scene, perhaps you can distract yourself by checking out the gorgeous muraled hallway instead!

reply

[–] Usman_Ali 17 years ago

I actually got a kick out of that scene, sorta WOKE me up.

reply

[–] jrgentle 17 years ago

Why? Its quite simple really. Its Life. That is what drunk people do sometimes. In Europe, and especially Italy, the attitude about living is a lot less puritan than in the US. I am an American living in Europe for the last 17 years, and I see the differences in so many things, but especially in the movies. BB is quite simply showing real life. Is it disgusting? Yes, Does it happen? Yes. Guys take a piss all over the shop in movies, yet I have never ever seen anyone comment on it. Most American movies tend to show too much "Perfection". Which is what makes them so unbelievable. Too much Fairy Tale sometimes is a bad thing. There are no hidden motives. No "woman's pleasure" being interrupted. Its simply a drunk woman at a party. If a drunk woman has never done anything outrageous at any party that you have ever attended, then those must have been some pretty boring parties. Relax a little, get drunk one night in your back garden with good friends. Take a piss in the Rose bushes and laugh about it all weekend long. That's Life.

reply

[–] 2jdv 17 years ago

I agree jrgentle--I saw nothing wrong with the scene. Americans need to grow up.

reply

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Usman_Ali 17 years ago

*beep* A dude

reply

[–] 2jdv 17 years ago

Ewww, ewwwwww, how could you *say* that!!!!

Eww, EWWW, ACCKKKK! [collapse]

reply

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 2jdv 17 years ago

Well put, Bil. There's a very well-done scene in Strayed where Emmanuelle Beart gets one up Side B and it's not at all vile or violent, but downright tender. In fact, that was the only part of Stealing Beauty I found offensive, because the same act is shown as violent and oppressive, and I object to violence one helluva lot more than peeing.

reply

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]