Tuco's Lament?

I think that Tuco, is perhaps, the most complex character in Sergio Leone's western classic The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Over these many decades, since I was young adolescent and first viewed the film, it is he that perplexes me they most. While most of us young men were attracted to the character of Blondie, Tuco’s character always seemed to present a dilemma for me. He was strangely appealing but seemed evil. Unlike Angel Eyes who appeared to be the Devil Incarnate, Tuco had a more human fragility that elicited concern or sympathy. And as the years passed, my knowledge of the world accumulated. I began to understand him more completely.

It is for this reason that I have named this blog after Tuco.

And what is my purpose for creating a blog in the first place? It is to create a spaghetti western morality play. I will explain further.

During my adolescent I worshipped the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone. Somehow they spoke to me during those turbulent adolescent years of the 1970’s. What turbulence you might ask? Adolescent turbulence is enough, thank you. Later in that decade I discovered the morality play as part of my Judaeo-Christian university and theatre education. Then I went into the world, to work, to play and to raise my family. I saw many things and was confused by much more. I worked in the field of psychiatry and viewed people up very close. It left me confounded and perplexed. I often sought refuge in these films of my youth during my hardest time, viewing them regularly, always feeling that they somehow reflected or could explain what I was seeing and feeling. But there was only so much time for reflection and I would often have none of it.

However, now things have changed. My children are grown. I have grown old, albeit older. I have more time for reflection, morality…spaghetti western…morality…spaghetti western. What a potentially fascinating thing to think about. Add to this my other love, puppetry and an idea begins to form. Create a work of great puppetry art, my great masterpiece and of course my only completed work to date...the spaghetti western morality play. Built a marionette play around the famous morality play…The Everyman…using the music and characters of the most famous of all spaghetti westerns… Il Buono, il brutto, il cattivo.

Is it possible? We will see. Perhaps. But succeed or fail, this blog will attempt to chart and record the journey. Perhaps if you find the interest, you will join me? Help out? Provide a mirror to view my feat or just contribute a small something?

Laurent