The Most Beautiful Boy in the World

When he walked into the audition room as the fifth boy – or possibly sixth, recollections vary  – to be seen by director Luchino Visconti on his talent scouting trip to Sweden, Björn Andrésen’s life changed forever. As Tadzio, the personification of pure beauty in 1971’s Death in Venice, Andrésen rocketed to international fame and instant recognisability. Fifty years later, the actor lives alone in squalor, faces eviction, is on tentative grounds with his partner and distant terms with his daughter.

The Most Beautiful Boy in the World takes its title from Visconti’s description of his 15-year-old star. By combining home video, archival footage and an intimate angle on Andrésen’s present-day existence, a life behind this image emerges. Directors Kristian Petri and Kristina Lindström capture painfully vulnerable moments – a breakup, an inspection and several revelations of dead relatives – while avoiding further exploitation. Andrésen retains narrative autonomy; while perhaps a guarded documentary, it conveys the sense of reclaiming life.

At a brief 90 minutes, the film never rushes Andrésen’s reckoning with past selves and changing – yet always isolating – situations. Assigning blame is never the focus: finding closure and grace in quiet moments with loved ones takes precedence. Less a systemic indictment than a compassionate look at one man’s extraordinary circumstances, The Most Beautiful Boy in the World is an illuminating look at a second act lost beyond one film’s shattering impact. Unsettling, often poignant and on occasions humorous, Andrésen’s path from self-annihilation to self-acknowledgement is masterfully crafted.