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The 3rd of November was the thirty-eighth anniversary of the tragic and still mysterious death of Pier Paolo Pasolini, poet, novelist, journalist, filmmaker and playwright, one of the biggest and most controversial intellectuals of the twentieth century.
A provocative artist, all his work was an intellectual challenge, his careful analysis of socio-economical, political and historical time made him one of the most active animators of the cultural debate that was developed in Italy between the fifties and seventies.
At 19 yrs old he published “Poesie a Casarsa” (Poems in Casarsa) which will be followed by numerous novels and essays before his debut as a screenwriter in 1954, the film directed by Mario Soldati “La donna del fiume” (the woman of the river).
His first film as a director was “Accattone” (Tramp, 1961) a violent depiction of the life of a pimp in the slums of Rome caused a sensation. Followed by “Mamma Roma” (1962 ) and ” Ro.Go.Pa.G.” a film divided into four episodes, the title of which is the portmanteau of the names of the directors of the four segments: Rossellini, Godard, Pasolini and Gregoretti, his episode “La ricotta” which tells the story of an appearance on the set of Christ’s crucifixion, was considered blasphemous and cost the director a conviction for insulting the religion of the state, subsequently mitigated by an amnesty, a long battle between the artist and censorship was started.
Followed “La Rabbia” (Anger, 1963), for which he directed the first part and the second was given to Guareschi and then “Comizi d’amore” (Love Meetings, 1964).
“Il vangelo secondo Matteo” (The Gospel According to Matthew, 1964), a stark and realistic representation of Christ which provoked a fierce debate in the media of the time.
“Uccellacci e uccellini” (Hawks and the Sparrows, 1966) sees the collaboration between the director and the most famous Italian comedian Totò and earned the actor a silver ribbon and an honorable mention at the Festival of Cannes. In ” Le Streghe” (The Witches, 1967), he directed the episode “La Terra vista dalla Luna” (The Earth seen from the Moon) and in “Capriccio all’italiana” (Italian Capriccio, 1967) he directed the episode “Che cosa sono le nuvole?” (What are clouds?)
Pasolini’s film career would then alternate distinctly personal and often scandalously erotic adaptations of classic literary texts: “Edipo re” (Oedipus Rex, 1967), “Il Decameron” (1971) “I racconti di Canterbury (The Canterbury Tales, 1972); Il fiore delle mille e una notte (Arabian Nights, 1974), ”Medea” (1969) with his own more personal projects, expressing his controversial views on Marxism, atheism, fascism and homosexuality, Teorema (Theorem, 1968), “Porcile” (Pigsty, 1969) and the famous “Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma” (1975), in which, inspired by the famous novel by the Marquis De Sade , proposes a parallel with Benito Mussolini and Fascist Italy Pasolini was murdered in still-mysterious circumstances shortly after completing the film.
Today we would like to pay tribute to this artist with an interesting documentary.
