SEARCHİNG FOR TADZİO

These are the images of a director's journey in search of a character. The images of Luchino Visconti's long journey to look for a face. The face of Tadzio, a young boy

who, in "Death in Venice" appears to August Von Aschenbach as the symbol of Beauty.

Budapest was a stop full of events but with no results. When he set off, Visconti

already had a face in mind a physical presence, as described by Thomas Mann in "Death in Venice", the novel chosen by Visconti to be reinvented on screen. The plot of the novel

can be summarized in a few words.

The story of Aschenbach, a famous German writer who at 50 starts to be obsessed

with his biological decline, and the lack of joy in his work. Driven by a sudden desire of change and to escape, he leaves his house in Munich and goes to Venice's Lido. In the same hotel in Venice is staying a 12 years old Polish boy, Tadzio. The writer is smitten by the incredible beauty of the young boy a gift he think it's much easier and more pleasant to possess than his stylistic perfection, which he might attain, or not, and always comes after a great creative effort.

 Tadzio is described by Thomas Mann as a boy with blond hair and light eyes. But in Budapest Visconti only found  boys with dark hair and dark eyes.

 "I want a boy with blond hair and light-colored eyes. And to find a boy like that, I went to Stockholm, to Helsinki, and I'm going to Warsaw and Munich. I'm looking where people's racial traits are blond hair and blue eyes.  Light-colored eyes. I call many boys here… and then I select, little by little, and I hope to find the right one. The character doesn't speak much. He also speaks his own language, which is Polish in the book. But it could also be Finnish, Swedish... it doesn't matter, as long as he speaks  a language incomprehensible for the other characters. Like in Mann's story." 

Luchine Visconti