: The film is heavily structured around the world of opera, specifically the works of Giuseppe Verdi. The grand, emotional heights of the stage performances are contrasted against the "down-and-dirty" reality of Joe’s addiction.
Upon release, La Luna was slapped with an X-rating in the United States. Critics were divided, not just by the drug use, but by the intense, borderline incestuous relationship between mother and son. Bertolucci defended the film as a metaphor for artistic obsession and maternal love pushed to its absolute breaking point. While it bombed at the box office, it became a staple of late-night art-house screenings. la luna 1979 movie okru