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Savage Messiah

Every man has a dream that must be realised... a love that must come true... a life that must not stop.

1972 · 1h 43m · R Drama
Directed by Ken Russell

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Overview

In the Paris of the 1910s, brash young sculptor Henri Gaudier begins a creative partnership with an older writer, Sophie Brzeska. Though the couple is 20 years apart in age, Gaudier finds that his untamed work is complemented by the older woman's cultural refinement. He then moves to London with Brzeska, where he falls in with a group of avant-garde artists. There, Gaudier encounters yet another artistic muse in passionate suffragette Gosh Boyle.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
63%
Tomatometer
Rotten

Henri's interesting relationship with the ageing authoress Sophie Brzeska is lost in the director's overriding credo that both art and films are a matter of how much energy you exert.

Derek Adams, Time Out
Rotten

Russell takes the mystique away from art, but supplies nothing much in its place.

Vincent Canby, New York Times
Fresh

You get to like Henri and Sophia, maybe more than they like themselves.

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

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