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He was the most beautiful boy in the world - and that's what ruined his life

The documentary "The Most Beautiful Child in the World" tells the story of Bjorn Anderson, who at the age of 15 became an international star following his appearance in "Death in Venice" - an experience that ruined his life.

In an interview on the occasion of its screening at the Jerusalem Festival, the docu-creators explain how the most beautiful child in kindergarten became the saddest child in it

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• Sundance Festival

• Jerusalem Festival

Avner Shavit

Thursday, 19 August 2021, 00:25 Updated: 00:29

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Trailer for the movie "The Most Beautiful Boy in the World" (Sundance Festival)

The history of cinema is full of stories about prodigies who crashed in the same drama in which they rose to greatness. One of the most difficult of these is the story of Bjorn Anderson, known as the acclaimed Italian director Lucino Visconti, in his early seventies - the most beautiful boy in the world.

This story begins in 1971, when Visconti brought to the canvas "Death in Venice", a book by Thomas Mann. The canonical novel, as I recall, deals with the writer who develops a compulsive attitude towards a boy who represents an idyllic and heavenly beauty - a beauty for whom one can die and for which. The filmmaker was looking for an actor who could embody this beauty, but even though he examined many candidates, he did not find the right one in his eyes, and then he came across Anderson.

Anderson was then 15 years old, and grew up with his grandmother. He never knew his father, and his bohemian mother died at a young age. Visconti extended his sponsorship to him and made him an international star. When "Death in Venice" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, hundreds of journalists and fans flocked to the blond meteor.

In retrospect, Anderson will say that this experience ruined his life.

He came out of it humiliated, exploited, confused and frightened.

He never recovered from it, and in any case, everyone who met him afterwards recognized him with her, and spoke to him about almost nothing else.

Instead of "Death in Venice" launching his career, as befits his name, he killed it for him, and then the actor hardly returned to the cinema.

Over the years, the Swede also suffered from depression, which intensified following the death of his son at the age of nine months.

The most beautiful child in kindergarten became the saddest child in it.

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To the full article

The most beautiful child in kindergarten became the saddest child in it.

Young Bjorn Anderson (Photo: GettyImages, Pierre Manwie)

Anderson is already sixty-six years old, and for years has refused to confront his past. He does so for the first time in the documentary "The Most Beautiful Child in the World," which will be shown next week at a local premiere at the Jerusalem Festival, a few months after its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won much acclaim and resonated.

The film reviews Anderson's life from childhood to the present day. As could also be seen from his brief foray into "Midsummer", the Swedish actor is still a handsome man, but as this docu documents, he lives in a flea market, enough to look at her kitchen to lose appetite. The days when he would dine like a prince seem very far away.

The film was co-directed by Christina Lindstrom and Christian Petrie, with whom I spoke in Zoom after the screening at Sundance. Petri says that he first met Anderson about twenty years ago, when they worked together on a children's TV series. The actor, whose most roles after "Death in Venice" were nothing more than TV curiosities, played the character of the bad guy, but in reality actually acted in a welcoming manner, and befriended the director.

"He didn't want to talk about his past, but we talked about a lot of other things and kept in touch," Petrie says. "Years later, I had dinner with him, and Christina joined in. She started asking him all kinds of questions I never asked, for example why he grew up with his grandmother and what happened to his parents, and that's how the work on the film began. It took us a long time to convince him to do him".

What made him convinced?

"Maybe when we told him it would not be a film about Visconti or his character in 'Death in Venice,' but a film about him. A lot of people know Bjorn's story, probably in Sweden, but always others told it for him, and we think it was important for him to take the opportunity. To reclaim his own story. "

Death in Stockholm.

Bjorn Anderson Nowadays (Photo: GettyImages, Juan Naharu Gymnas)

One of the most powerful archive footage in the film documents the official press conference of "Death in Venice", which took place after the premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Anderson curls up in it ashamed, while Visconti sits smug, humiliating him with comments about his appearance. "Those were other times," Lindstrom says. "If a director had talked like that nowadays about a kid starring in his film, it would not have passed in peace."

And of course there are other things that at the time did not excite anyone, but today are already perceived as shocking - for example, the audition in which Anderson, as a middle school student, was asked to take off his clothes. Despite all this, he also finds good things to say about the experience. "In the beginning, his attitude was 'this is the movie that knocked my life out,' but during the five years we worked with him, he started playing other songs as well," Lindstrom says. "He said that despite everything, 'Death in Venice' was an adventure, and he also gained something from it."

And what did he say about your film?

"He watched it a few times and enjoyed it very much because the film focuses on it."

One miss.

From "The most beautiful child in the world" (Photo: Sundance Festival)

"The Most Beautiful Child in the World" turns out to be a comprehensive and rich docu, but its creators say that it had one miss.

"During the conversations with him, Anderson told us that he met Carrie Fischer in his youth in Paris, and then an affair began between them," they say.

"We arranged to interview her, but she died before we could do so."

In addition to his affair with the American Fisher, Anderson also spent many years in Japan, becoming an iconic character and inspiration for the design of anime characters.

The Swede even recorded a few songs in it, but to his frustration, he never managed to develop his musical career.

His film career failed even more.

"Death in Venice" remained his only significant cinematic role, until two years ago he made a brief but memorable outing to "Midsummer," the American Ari Aster horror film shot in his homeland.

"We interviewed Hester, but left the interview out, so the film would focus on Anderson's journey," the directors say.

"In general, we gave up a lot of things, to leave room for the imagination of the audience, and for the viewers to be left with questions."

If you could ask Visconti one question, what would you ask?

"We would ask, why did he actually choose Anderson? There were other beautiful children in the world, so why him? What did you see in his eyes that made you choose him? We would also like to show him our docu, and hear what he thinks."

Excerpt from Anderson's audition for "Death in Venice"

After making the film, what is your perspective on the phenomenon of wonder children in cinema?

Is it legitimate or ethically wrong?

"It very much depends on the circumstances. It should be remembered that Bjorn had special life circumstances, so he may have been more vulnerable than other children. Bjorn himself is not very positive about this phenomenon, but it should be remembered that there are many players who started as children, and it did not stop them from developing careers - Leonardo DiCaprio "For example."

What is Bjorn's condition right now?

"As you saw in the movie, he has a young girlfriend, and she has a positive impact on him. His kitchen no longer looks that way."

"The Most Beautiful Child in the World" will be presented at the Jerusalem Festival on Tuesday, August 31 at 9:45 PM and on Saturday, September 4 at 5:45 PM.

To order tickets, see the official website.

In his honor, the festival will also screen "Death in Venice" on Tuesday, August 31 at 6:30 p.m.

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