The reasons why people may find this film boring are the very same reasons Prince Salina is so depressed. There are so many layers and subtleties that this film has successfully addressed and expressed. A lesser filmmaker wouldn't be able to pull this off, and this shows what a consummate master Visconti was.
As a modern audience, I too found this film boring at times, because it is because of the typical Visconti pacing which Hollywood action-minded modern audiences unfortunately find too slow. But after reading more about The Leopard and its history, I found it very interesting.
Towards the end of the film, I came to care about the characters because it's a world that no longer exists.
Back to why Prince Salina is so pensive and depressed/forlorn. He knows he belongs to a historical world and generation that will be forgotten and ultimately misunderstood as quaint antiquity. His concerns, observations, and way of life, which Visconti beautifully documents, will no longer continue. It is a lost dream. Modern audiences are unable to relate to this film precisely of the fact that it is about a world that is long gone, exactly what Prince Salina was lamenting.
Add that to Visconti's traditional film-making style of steady pacing and rhythm - that is, a record of moods and impressions rather than plot and action.
I posted this in another thread:
In fact, Tancredi was right in his cynical assessment.
He joined Garibaldi, the subversive antithesis of his class and tradition, making a name for himself. He participated in the making of a new united Italy. This unification and modernization of Italy was inevitable, something he understood. Thus, he joined the times, seemingly cutting his ties from his past. Joining the revolution made him seem like a revolutionary, what the idealism of that time required. By becoming something of a hero, he becomes the "elite" of the era, as well as the "elite" of the past. Doing so made him seem progressive and less threatening to the masses. As soon as it was unfashionable, or rather, politically uninteresting to be a Garibaldi Red Shirt, he joined the Royal Forces of the New Italy which then became more accepted and trusted. Although it was hypocritical to again work for the elite/nobility/royalty, the political climate favored it. Tancredi's political allegiances always reflected the spirit of the times rather than his convictions. By following the spirit of the times he always maintained the upper hand. Towards the end of the film, he once again proved his assessment to work in his favor, as Tancredi was going to run for elections. Since the eligible voters were probably going to vote for him anyway (this was addressed in the film where the masses followed Prince Salina's electoral choices), it is safe to say that Tancredi will probably become the new era's prominent politician. This proves that a leopard may change his spots but is still a leopard. A prince can always remain a prince on top if he knows how to play the game. Prince Salina mourns this fact, as he is nostalgic and wishes for the world he treasured to be forever preserved. However, he is full of sadness that people like Tancredi are going to change the very world they miss in order to stay in power.
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