The new epic drama by Andrei Konchalovsky, released on the big screens in November 2019, tells the viewer about the life of the brilliant Italian sculptor and painter Michelangelo Buonarroti. The director creates a feeling of approaching the viewer and a talented creator, which allows the first to look at the second not from the outside, but as if becoming his apprentice and participating in all the undertakings and ideas of Michelangelo.
Political intrigues, the struggle between the secular authorities and the papal palace, disturbing the whole of Europe, the irreconcilable enmity of the two Italian dynasties: in such an atmosphere the gifted master was forced to live, or rather, to survive. The eternal temptation of talented people – the sin of pride, constantly haunts the master and becomes a real problem when Michelangelo receives a new large-scale order from the Catholic pontiff himself.
The meaning of the film “Sin”
The story begins with a stream of scolding by Michelangelo, wandering alone, blaming Florence and Italy as a whole for all his troubles, which do not know how to appreciate artists.
The picture is transferred to Rome, where the master is required to stop work on the Sistine Chapel, on the ceiling of which Michelangelo worked for several years, trying to create a masterpiece and get money to feed himself and his small family. The master protests furiously, stating that the ceiling has not yet reached the peak of perfection that one can talk about, but the cardinals force him to start dismantling the scaffolding, since soon Pope Julius II himself from the della Rovere family should come to the chapel for inspection. Despite Michelangelo’s despair, the pontiff is delighted with what he sees.
At night, the master works on the sculpture of the pontiff. He is sorely lacking time to complete the work on time. Suddenly, the Pope has a heart attack and dies. A representative of the dynasty hostile to the former pontiff from the Medici family is elected as the new head of the Catholic Church. The master is torn between the desire to complete the contract concluded with the family of Julius II and to bring to life many more ideas, which the family of the deceased opposes, insisting on the completion of sculptures for the tomb of the Pope.
Michelangelo signs a contract, according to which he undertakes not to take on other orders while working on the sculptures. However, the new Pope persuades him to start a new project for decorating the facade of the Medici Chapel. Ambition forces the master to accept the second order, despite the breach of the contract.
A master with two apprentices goes to Carrara to buy marble for his work. There, he insists that a huge piece of marble be lowered from the mountains, called the Monster for its gigantic size. Michelangelo, anticipating how he will work with such a large piece of marble, dissolves in dreams and pride. He spends colossal sums to organize the descent of marble, which ends in disaster: a poorly executed part by a blacksmith, on which the rope was attached, caused the death of one of the men who lowered the marble from the mountain. Michelangelo realizes he has been set up when he finds the blacksmith dead in his house. He begins to suspect that the competitors who came to Carrara for the marble want to get rid of it. Masters are haunted by strange visions and dreams.
Meanwhile, in Rome, the enmity of the two dynasties does not subside: della Rovere is expelled by the secular representatives of the Medici family from their possessions. Wishing to erase any memory of the enemy family, the new Pope invites Michelangelo to start mining marble in the Medici territories, granting him the right to take the mined rock in unlimited quantities for free as a reward.
However, this deal will be known in Carrara. The head of the Malaspina family, who owns Carrara marble, convicts the master of deception and the planned theft of the Monster, which the latter tried to take out of the principality without paying. Michelangelo is directly threatened with death and insisted that he get out of the property.
The master is trying to figure out the traitor who betrayed him Malaspina. It turns out to be an apprentice genius who was bribed to kill Michelangelo. The young man assures him that he would never take such a step and leaves the workshop. Soon the wedding feast is hosted by another of his disciples. A sculptor comes to the wedding, from whom Michelangelo, having agreed to decorate the Medici Chapel, took away the order. He accuses the master of lies and meanness, however, the genius does not listen to him, indulging in fun and reveling in his own glory. At night, an unknown person kills the newlyweds who have settled on the second floor of Michelangelo’s workshop.
The master sees Dante, who convinces him that despite the troubles, Michelangelo’s work on earth has not yet been completed. In the final scene, the audience is shown late works by Michelangelo.
The meaning of the finale of the film Sin
Despite the trials that a person is going through, there will always be strength in him in order to overcome them. A sinful man who imagines himself to be the center of the world will perhaps be disappointed when the powers that be prove to him that he was wrong, as happened to Michelangelo. However, geniuses are forgiven a lot for being who they are. Strong will, the true spirit of the creator and great work always give hope for forgiveness and a second chance.
