Pasolini

Part hero worship, part true-crime tragedy and completely of a piece with its creator's obsessions over the spiritual and the sordid. An unconventional approach to what should be a straightforward biopic, Pasolini's willingness to get lost within the artist's creative perspective while detailing his life creates a powerful and evocative look into the dark world of one of cinema's most controversial figures. It may be only one man's version of what many have speculated about... but its clear-eyed grittiness is also a tribute from a filmmaker for whom the night's temptations were ripe and its dangers legion. In depicting Pasolini's final hours, director Abel Ferrara emphasises the tranquil, serene environment in which his subject worked, the foundation of domesticity that anchored him, though ultimately could not shield him. Despite Ferrara's attempts to generate scandalous imagery of his own, he winds up with many sequences of touching beauty. The jumbling of languages offers a way forward, reaching towards a medium in which modes of communication become equivalent, offset by the marvellous central performance of one of cinema's greatest actors, Willem Dafoe. The idea of a search is a significant parallel between the two intertwined portions of the film, which seem to work towards opposing ends yet culminate in the conclusion of a common node: the art of Pier Paolo Pasolini is inseparable from his death.

Sometimes a director wants to pay hommage to a past legend. We have seen it many times with talented directors like Tarentino, De Palma and others. You tell a story and you insert scenes like the masters and you move on, please don't ruin the mystique of masters of illusion by doing boring A DAY IN THE LIFE OF.... When you try to shoot biographical episodes, you are doing a high wire act in high winds. You are most likely to fall flat on your face and seriously injure your reputation. This is the case here. PPP was a shock jock whot reveled in visual controversy and in his writings. He was a combo of Bunuel-Dali-Picasso-Zola. To show his last day was about as interesting as reading the one word Twas and closing the book on A christmas carol. Move on people! there is NO story here

An observational glimpse on the last hours of the famed and controversial Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini, "Pasolini" is a glacial record of art and society in 1970s Italy. Willem Dafoe plays the complicated artist highlighting the man's torment and humanity. The real life Pasolini's oddball intensity is missing in this portrayal; rather, Dafoe embodies a reserved, cultured homosexual who lived the opposite worlds of cultivated society and the seamy underworld. Amidst this depiction is the backdrop of a turbulent Rome in the throes of political and social unrest. Being an Abel Ferrara flick there's nudity and some graphic sex (both straight and gay) that provides some chuckles and titillation. While not for everyone this highbrow and arty film serves as a compelling tribute to one of the most fascinating artistic figures of the 20th-Century.

a homage. and a sketch. visual poem. and touching story. not very clear but useful for remind a splendid work. a director. and crumbs from his universe. a film who must see twice. or more. because it is a kind of puzzle. and not the presence of Ninetto Davoli or the physical resemblance between Dafoe and Pasolini is the best side but the story itself. the last days of a man in search of the real form of truth. it seems be obscure or too complicated. it seems be only a drawing and not real a coherent film. but it is admirable axis for reflection. about the themes of Pasolini's filmography. about the subjects, decisions and idealism. about Salo meanings. about sense of art. about new adaptation of the Renaissance 's ideal. about a form of revolt and freedom and fight to discover the essence of existence behind masks.

a real good film. for the flavor of the period, for the presence of Ninetto Davoli, for the performance of Willem Dafoe, for the status of precise map for Pasolini's universe, for the passion of director. a film like an old picture. support for memories, reflection, rediscover the name of one of the greatest conscience of Italian XX century. an occasion to understand an universe. not in its profound sense but in its precise borders. at first sigh confuse, it is only expression of absence of courage. Abel Ferrara has not a clear way for explore the world of Pasolini.or the courage to create the painting more than its sketch. but he has an idea. result - few lines, short images, suggestion and words, the interview and the family around the table, the meeting with young man and the dream of a travel to noway. sure, it could be disappointment.the looking for the heart of life is only suggested ignoring its fundamental position in Pasaolini's work. but it remains a good film. for the silences. for emotions. for the pieces of a life who remains an important legacy for our time. because the questions are the same. because the answers are ambiguous. and the voice of Psolini, in his writings, interview or films remains high powerful.