Movies
The film that inspired one of my all-time favorites, to be fair, there's quite a difference between both films. Visitor Q is balls-the-walls insane, Theorem is a more serious and mysterious take on the same premise. I wasn't exactly surprised, which is why it took me so long to finally get around to it. Making direct comparisons to Visitor Q is pointless, Pasolini's Theorem is very much its own thing. I wasn't too taken by the performances and the cinematography is quite murky, but there are some interesting scenes and the film kept me intrigued from start to finish. Overall, it's wasn't a major success though.Read all
I had no idea what to expect from Pasolini adapting the story of Jesus, especially since Salo was the only other film I'd seen of him. With that in mind, The Gospel According to Matthew is a pretty basic, even somewhat boring adaptation of a story that's been told countless times before. Pasolini's audiovisual signature stands out here, with stark close-ups and a more naturalistic vibe, but it wasn't enough to keep me entertained for more than 2 hours. The film is a succession of simplistic and moralistic lessons, delivered by a rather angry and self-assured man. Too religious for my liking.Read all
Pasolini's take on Italian neorealism. It's not my favorite drama niche and certainly not when the Italians get busy with it. It's usually just a bunch of loud characters shouting a lot as they try to survive in rather dire circumstances. Anna Magnani was just insufferable, not in the least because of her terrifying laugh. The plot and characters weren't too interesting, the performances were poor and visually there's not a lot to get excited about. This film is really all about the characters and if they don't do it for you (or actively annoy you, as was the case for me) then you need to scramble to find anything positive here.Read all
