I’ve been preparing a presentation about Pier Paolo Pasolini’s film career. He was born in 1922, inBologna, Italy. He was, in his own words, a poet, journalist, philosopher, linguist, novelist, playwright, filmmaker, newspaper and magazine columnist, actor, painter and (leftist) political figure… Well, yes, he was a really versatile person, but the reason why he caught my attention was his movie “Teorema”.
Since 1939, he frequented the Bologna cinema club. In 1957, for the first time, he (and Sergio Citti) wrote dialogue for a movie: it was for the Roman dialect parts in Fellini’s “Le notti di Caribia”. He debuted as a film actor in 1960. The next year, he wrote and directed “Accattone”, his first movie, which, like many of his previous writing works, was set in Rome’s marginal quarter and was very controversial. The Italian state felt offended.
His art always caused him problems with the law, because of its leftwing point of view. Also, “Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom”, released in 1975, is one of the most controversial films ever; he mysteriously died the same year.
What I like most about him is “Teorema” (1968), because the plot is very creative, with not too much dialogue and the atmosphere is so intriguing.
