Histoires scélérates

The three Trilogy of Life films that Pier Paolo Pasolini directed have grown on me over the years. I do not like them all equally, but even the weakest one (The Canterbury Tales) has some merit in terms of composition and framing.

Bawdy Tales is the redheaded stepchild to those films. It was written in part by Pasolini and was produced by Alberto Grimaldi, who had produced the other films. In addition, Tonino Delli Colli and Dante Ferretti return as cinematographer and production designer. In addition, Pasolini regulars Franco Citti and Ninetto Davoli star in the frame story as two thieves who are supposedly telling the stories that we are seeing, although this is not always clear.

Unfortunately, the stories are nothing special. The Pasolini Trilogy of Life films had The Decameron, The Canterbury Tales, and The Arabian Nights to draw upon. Bawdy Tales consists of, as far as I know, original tales in the style of the bawdy tales found in those books. Most deal with adultery and end in some sort of violence, which is not always true of the stories in the Pasolini films.

Here we are treated to two castrations, three stabbings, a beheading, and two hangings. As a result, the stories became very familiar after awhile. Only the ending, which is somewhat modern, stood out. I liked the gallows humor (literally) of the end. The rest of the film, I was utterly indifferent to. I didn't mind watching it, but I would not watch it a second time. For all of the talent involved in the making of the film, it still felt like one of the ripoffs of the Trilogy of Life films.