#HOTDOCS: “THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY IN THE WORLD”

By George Kozera

I first saw Italian Director Luchino Visconti’s Oscar-nominated “Death in Venice” at a private screening in the early ’80s. Whereas I was not as enamored by the Film as others, I found Dirk Bogarde’s performance as a sickly Composer fixated on a young boy while recuperating in Venice astonishing. What made it fascinating and believable was the look of the lad and, playing Tadzio, Bjorn Andresen embodied pulchritude. Described by Visconti at the Premiere of the Movie at the Cannes Film Festival as THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY IN THE WORLD, Andresen evoked an androgynous innocence, immortalized forever on celluloid. Whereas Andresen was never able to parlay that initial fame into a profitable career, he looks back on the 50 years since the release of “Death in Venice” with honesty and clarity. His personal life may have been in shambles which he never disowns but there is also a little sense of pride that his face inspired Japanese Manga.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY IN THE WORLD held me enthralled throughout. Bjorn Andresen’s life is worth visiting.