Mamma Roma (1962)
This is Pasolini's second feature length film. It's a drama about a middle-aged prostitute who has saved up enough money to quit her old job, get a new "proper" job, a new apartment and most of all get her son back. Well things don't of course work out as planned. This is a solid little drama with a good cast and a lot to say about the way the world was heading back then. It has a quite nihilistic feel and even though the people seem to be singing a lot, they might not be exactly feeling fine. So the basics are working quite well for this one, but unfortunately it didn't work as well as it could have done. Actually I got quite bored at times, even though this is not a long movie. That says a lot about the pacing of the movie. Solid effort none the less and surely promised more to come.
67%
The Decameron (1971)
This is the first part of Pasolini's Trilogy of Life, the other two you can see below. This one was just a mix of short stories piled together without much sense to it. Some bits of comedy and some nice criticism towards the church but mostly the movie focuses on stories were it can show some tits and asses. Nothing wrong with that, I love movies which criticize religion or politics, especially funny ones, and I like tits and asses, but the problem was the pacing. The movie manages to get utterly boring before it gets funny again. The few good moments this movie had were so far apart it's really not worth watching for those either.
36%
The Canterbury Tales (1972)
Just like the first part this also is a mix of short stories, but this time there is at least some attempt to bind them together with this man who is writing them down. Well again the criticism is very present and we get quite a lot of tits and asses. This time the comedy is a bit more present and is quite dark at times, surely a plus for that. Also there were a bit more of those good moments so it worked better than the first part. But again the pacing is off and the slow storytelling gets very boring at parts. The ending was quite hilarious with the devil pulling out stunts even goatse would be envious, but getting there was a bit too boring.
47%
Arabian Nights (1974)
The third and final part is the most complete of them all with a proper storyline behind it. It's also the easiest to watch without falling asleep. So the pacing is a bit better and the comedy is fairly ok to keep you entertained. Tits and asses pop up frequently also to keep the interest up. Far from a masterpiece but still was worth the watch. Though I think I won't be watching it again any time soon.
59%
Salo - 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
What I remembered from this movie were that there's some gay sex, people eat shit and nails and that there was some old hag telling dirty stories. Oh and lots of skin. I remembered it to be repulsive and offensive. Well it's all of the above and then some. The biggest surprise I got from watching this one again was the comedy. I really didn't remember it being any funny, but damn this is like the grimmest dark comedy ever made. It's so over the top in fascism, nihilism and shock factor that I just had to laugh at it. Simply hilarious. Under the exploitative surface it's actually a parody about fascism and basically people with power. I mean a scene with the bishop fucking a young girl with the president jumping in to fuck the bishop in the ass while the magistrate is jerking off a boy tells a lot. Sure this parody could have been told in a bit more easily approachable way but still it's quite great for what it is. Surely not for everyone, but once you get the point it gets quite hilarious.
79%
Watching these 5 movies still didn't make me a fan of Pasolini, but maybe the rest of his movies are worth checking out as well...
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