rated r fine line features in english and italian with english subtitles starring thandie newton , david thewlis , claudio santamaria based on a story by james landun written by bernardo bertolucci and clare peploe directed by bernardo bertolucci an old african man plucks a tribal instrument and sings in a scratchy voice . a woman walks alone down a dirt road , then watches her husband get taken away to a military prison . a lonely man sits in an enormous roman home and plays an intense piece he has just composed on the piano . these are but a few of the breathtaking images caught on film in bernardo bertolucci's beautifully made " besieged " . over many years , this italian filmmaker has made a name for himself with exquisite , emotional films such as " the last emperor " and " last tango in paris " . bertolucci's latest film , " besieged " is a work of art if i've ever seen one . the film stars thandie newton , who was robbed of a much-deserved oscar nod for her gritty work in the title role of last year's underappreciated " beloved " , as shandurai , a beautiful black woman working as a maid in the home of lonely pianist mr . kinsky ( david thewlis ) . shandurai's husband has been imprisoned for unkown reasons , and she is learning that mr . kinsky is in love with her . shandurai tries to shy away from men since she is married ( her only friend is homosexual ) , and mr . kinsky doesn't push her . the siege mentioned in the title is a subtle , emotional one . as the film progresses , shandurai feels herself falling into mr . kinsky's trap . there is not much plot to speak of in " besieged " , for it is a collage of incredible images piled on to one another ; each one having ambiguous meaning . the last scene of the film , however , undercuts the satisying buildup , and will leave most viewers out in the dark . " besieged " is a cold film , but an engrossing one . bertolucci's attention to detail creates a vivid motion picture . but as i left the theatre , i couldn't help but want to know more about each character's background . shandurai's dark past is barely hinted at , and mr . kinsky has no story at all . there is such a serious drought of dialogue in this film , that i'm sure quentin tarantino could have made this entire screenplay into a 5 minute film . but bernardo bertolucci's swift hand and fabio cianchetti's lucid camerawork keep " besieged " real . the very special thing about this movie is that i'm sure 10 people could walk out of it with entirely different opinions of each aspect . if you like films that are unabashedly artsy , then " besieged " was made just for you . a review by akiva gottlieb , the teenage movie critic <a href= " mailto : akiva@excite . com " >akiva@excite . com</a> <a href= " http : //www . angelfire . com/mo/film " >http : //www . angelfire . com/mo/film</a> <hr>get your free , private email at <a href= " http : //mail . excite . com/ " >http : //mail . excite . com/</a> 
