Many people from my generation saw “Last Tango in Paris,” a 1972 French American collaboration with Maria Schneider and Marlon Brando. It was considered pornographic by some, those who were not used to art films and so it was very controversial and critically discussed. Until watching the new French/Italian/American collaboration film “Being Maria” this past weekend (2025), starring Anamaria Vartolomei, I had no idea what she dealt with as an actress.

Maria was only 19 and this was her first part as the main actress in a film. Not to mention she was up against Marlon Brando who was 48 at the time and a major American star. He received $3 million in royalties, she did not. He essentially raped her (sodomized) on screen, in the film, because she did not know about the infamous “butter” scene until it happened. The film was directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and according to the docudrama, Being Maria, told her that he wanted her to actually be humiliated on camera instead of acting the scene. Yet, the film also shows that Mr. Bertolucci spent time with Marlon Brando discussing various parts of the film – he was taken more seriously. It appears that he tried to comfort Maria after the fact and Marlon whispered in her ear “Its only a film.”

Being sodomized in front of cameramen, make-up artists, stylists, all the people there watching the film made, in a very different way then you might with a boyfriend in a bedroom, whom you love and respect, I cannot imagine. It was not completely explained whether or not she was still a virgin by this point either. The film has her at 16 one minute and 19 another. It is hard to understand or think about how to react with this since many odd things happen in the making of films, that I have read. However, it obviously impacted Maria’s life as she struggled the rest of her life emotionally. She was a heroine addict for many years, in and out of psychiatric facilities. She died of cancer at the age of 58.

What the film also showed is that Maria was targeted wherever she went. People on the street or restaurants would publicly shame her. I am sure Marlon Brando received lots of nods from fellow actors, upon arriving back home. The woman is always blamed, it is never the man. As if she had complete control in this situation, though by watching the film, people would have assumed she did at that time. Many other French actresses were equally used in films for sexual titillation, not just in France but also in America and England and other countries. At the time of the “MeToo” movement, it was French actresses who wrote a letter speaking against their attack and giving their reasons why. I did the same in a blogpost, as I felt the movement had gone about their activist campaign in a way that misrepresented itself to people. It was seen to be about making women aware of sexual abuse and talking about creating change for women. In fact, it was designed solely to benefit actresses in Hollywood and take down people like Harvey Weinstein. So many women were sharing their abuse stories, sometimes graphically online all to no avail. No one was really listening and no one was doing anything about it. The founders of #MeToo got their stage and what culminated was a witch hunt toward men in film/TV in the U.S. and not about helping the average woman.

Maria had her say many times. No one really listened until the director, Jessica Palud created this docudrama to explain what happened. Marlon Brando, Bernardo Bertolucci and Maria Schneider are all dead now. No one can be held accountable.