The Belly of an Architect · reception & legacy
1987 · Peter Greenaway
How The Belly of an Architect has been received, argued over, and remembered.
The arc
Respectfully but quietly received in 1987 — it premiered in competition at Cannes, then got overshadowed two years later by the scandal of The Cook, the Thief. It has since been steadily reappraised as Greenaway's warmest, most humane film, with Brian Dennehy's performance the centrepiece of the rediscovery.
What's debated
The perennial fan debate: is this Greenaway's best film precisely because it's his least Greenaway-ish — actual human emotion breaking through the formalism — or is that faint praise from people who don't really like Greenaway?
Its footprint
The Wim Mertens music is the film's great cultural export — his pulsing minimalist pieces paired with Rome's monuments circulate far beyond the film itself, and 'Struggle for Pleasure' became a minimalism standard many people know without knowing the movie.
Where it stands
A cult object and the frequent 'start here' recommendation for Greenaway newcomers — beloved on Letterboxd as the great underrated Brian Dennehy showcase.