The movie Caravaggio, directed by Derek Jarman, is a biographical drama that depicts the tumultuous life of the renowned Italian artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The film is set in the late 16th and early 17th century and portrays Caravaggio as a troubled, passionate, and rebellious figure, whose artistic genius is matched by his reckless and self-destructive behavior.
The movie is divided in a non-linear narrative that jumps back and forth in time, exploring Caravaggio's various relationships and artistic endeavours. In his childhood, Caravaggio is shown as a young and ambitious apprentice painter in Milan, struggling to make a name for himself in a highly competitive art scene. His initial works are dismissed by his critics as too unconventional and gritty, but he persists, attracted by the possibility of portraying the human form in a more realistic and dramatic way.
As Caravaggio moves to Rome, he catches the attention of Cardinal Del Monte, a powerful patron of the arts who recognizes his talent and commissions him to paint a series of religious works. These paintings, notably The Entombment of Christ and The Seven Acts of Mercy, are some of Caravaggio's most celebrated and potent works, and they establish his reputation as a master of chiaroscuro and naturalistic composition.
However, Caravaggio's success is often overshadowed by his personal demons. He is known for his brawling and gambling habits, and his affair with a handsome and deceitful gambler named Ranuccio Tomassoni leads to a fatal altercation. Caravaggio is forced to flee Rome and spends the last years of his life as a wandering fugitive, constantly hounded by his enemies and struggling with poverty and illness.
Throughout the movie, the director employs a unique visual style that blends period costumes and sets with anachronistic elements and avant-garde imagery. The soundtrack features music by contemporary artists such as Brian Eno, and the dialogue mixes historical accuracy with poetic license and modern sensibility.
Caravaggio is regarded as one of the most significant examples of queer cinema and postmodernist filmmaking, as it explores themes of identity, sexuality, power, and art through a subversive and experimental lens. It stars Nigel Terry as Caravaggio, Tilda Swinton as his muse and model Lena, and Sean Bean as Ranuccio Tomassoni.