Pier Paolo Pasolini

Pier Paolo Pasolini










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4. The Hawks and the Sparrows (1966)


After making something as serious as the Gospel of Jesus with his 1964 film "The Gospel According to St. Matthew," Pier Paolo Pasolini decided to make an irreverent comedy with his next feature film - 1966's "The Hawks and the Sparrows." It centers on a father and son travelling the countryside with a left-wing intellectual crow as they encounter various allegories to Marxist economic and social injustices. The film was a farcical and mockish attempt to point our social disparity. It was also one of the final films made by lead actor, Toto, before his death one year later.




3. Mamma Roma (1962)


Pier Paolo Pasolini's films would get far more controversial into his directing career, but even his more neo-realist pieces in the early 1960s had some edge to them. His second directorial effort, 1962's "Mamma Roma," which starred the incomparable Anna Magnani, had a police complaint filed the day of its release for being "offensive to good morals" and "contrary to public decency." Pasolini was even confronted by neo-fascists in front of the Quattro Fontane Cinema, where he got into a scuffle. Thematically, the film is about the inescapability of poverty. Our character try to escape their situations, but are unsuccessful. The film seems to suggest that external mechanisms will always keep the impoverished in their current status. Being that Pasolini was an ardent communist and anti-fascist, the concepts of anti-capitalism and anti-fascism color the film in this context. The violent and physical suppression of our characters by fascistic forces enable their continued destitution. 





2. Accattone (1961)


After spending two decades as a writer and poet, Pier Paolo Pasolini entered the world of cinema with his debut feature film, 1961's "Accattone." Centering on a pimp at the end of his rope, "Accattone" spends its runtime engaging with pure bad intentions. Our protagonist continues to go out of his way to demonstrate the moral black heart at the center of humanity. His actions are evil, his relationships are abusive, and his general viewpoint on life is utterly corrupted. To me, the film is a spiritual cousin to the films of Robert Bresson. Its confines iterate just how lifelessly putrid the soul can be. We do not like nor root for our protagonist. Instead, we must keep his company and watch as he does nothing but abuse and manipulate people for his own survival. This is especially stark given the post-war landscape of Italy - our characters constantly surrounded by rubble and decay. Its a film, much akin to many post-war European films, that seethe with resentment and bitterness, showing just how depraved and unsavory life and humanity are.





1. The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)


Despite much of the Italian neo-realist movement venturing into the territory of the 'Italian-Style Comedy' in the 1960s, there were many filmmakers who kept the movement alive. Pier Paolo Pasolini was one of them. By using the neo-realist lens to adapt the Gospel of Matthew, Pasolini depicted the journey of Jesus with such a visceral intimacy and palpable realism unlike anything seen before. "The Gospel According to St. Matthew," in my humble opinion is the greatest depiction of the Christ story ever put to film. Pasolini was able to redistribute the true spirit of the gospels and set them amongst the backdrop of modern religious hypocrisy. By maintaining the purity of the gospels' vocabulary and remaining unchanged in its story, we see the Christ in his purest and most direct form. He challenged the church, stood for the economically destitute, and raged against capitalism and industry. Pasolini using the traditional Italian approach of neo-realism also seemed like a rebellion against the more Hollywood-esque romanticization and theatricality of the telling of the Jesus story. The lack of ornamentation of a story that typically employs it allows for the viewer to experience the story with a more intimate capacity. The neo-realism makes the Christ feel more alive and ever-present with the downtrodden and outcast. This was precisely the thematic means integral to the concepts of neo-realism. "The Gospel According to St. Matthew," for these reasons, is not only the greatest story of Christ ever told, but one of the greatest works of art ever put to film.

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