Reviewed by P.P.O. Kane
Pasolini
Directed by Abel Ferrara
Italy, 2015
HOME, 13 September 2015
Willem Dafoe brings it off, gives a convincing portrayal of the great Italian auteur.
He is a man who carries his own shadow within him, that’s the sense you get. There is kindness and generosity toward others, a radical political outlook, a fierce intelligence. But at root a despair, an overpowering boredom with life, which makes his flirtation with danger necessary. If he had played safe, his work would, you feel, lack a vital dimension. As it is, Pasolini died as Winckelmann and others before and since: a liaison turned bad, the victim of a hate crime.
It’s an uncompromising film by Abel Ferrara, quite in keeping with Pasolini’s own oeuvre, and he has made it in his own distinct way. Some scenes are straight forward, understated even, while others have a visionary quality. However, you always feel that Ferrara is in control of his material
About the reviewer: P.P.O. Kane lives and works in Manchester, England. He welcomes responses to his reviews and you can reach him at ludic@europe.com. Find more of his reviews at https://jildysauce.wordpress.com