Written by Grady Fiorio
Original Publishing Date: May 25th, 2022
Rating: Salò 4/5 Passolini 2/5
Oh boy...
Now, this is what I call, coming out swinging...
To dedicate your life to the craft is one thing. To give your life, well that's a whole other. This is a lesson that Italian artist and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini sadly learned with the release of his controversial and final film, Salo. As a filmmaker of Italian descent myself, it almost feels like there is some weird debt owed. Somehow, with Pasolini's passing, I need to do something a bit extra to honor the path he paved. Pasolini was an Italian visionary who gave his life for his art, and I'm over here making goofy independent movies when I can. But really what can I do? Eat a plate of spaghetti in his honor? All jokes aside I think the best way to remember the craftsman is to indulge in said craft and admire and study what work he left behind. That leaves us to our review today, and also the first double feature review of my website. Salo and Pasolini.
So what is the significance of these two films? Salo is the last film by Passolini. This highly controversial political commentary (or rather kick in the head) brings us to WW2 fascist Italy. A group of fascist government officials and aristocrats kidnap nine teenage boys and girls and subject them to 120 days of the worst torture imaginable and unimaginable. The film was and still is highly controversial and banned all over the world, including in its home country of Italy. The film is graphic and unflinching in its depiction of torture and abuse, sparing absolutely zero detail. It's nausea-inducing and not for the faint of heart. The film has a strong political message and really helped to paint an already large target on the back of Pasolini.
Previously mentioned, Salo would be the final undoing of Pasolini, serving as one of the causes of his death. It would suffice to say that Pasolini, a gay, atheist, communist, and artist making deeply political films in the 1970s, had garnered himself quite a bit of attention. His work very closely followed his beliefs and lifestyle, making him the victim of various harassment. On March 2nd, 1975, Pasolini would be killed in a brutal fashion. He was run over by his own car, had his testicles smashed with a metal bar, and finally, his body was set on fire with gasoline. Not exactly dying peacefully in your sleep. The exact details of who and why he was killed are muddy at best, but there is some evidence to look towards. Shortly after his death, 17-year-old Giuseppe Pelosi admitted to the murder, as well as a group of "unknown others". Eventually, this group was struck from the verdict, as in 2005 Pelosi retracted his confession after claiming that his family was being threatened, stating that taking the fall for the crime was the only way out. According to Pelosi, the men who killed Passolini called him a "dirty communist" as they beat him to death. The exact identity of the assailant(s) is still unknown and the murder remains unsolved to this day. What is known is that reels of film from Salo were stolen prior to Pasolini's murder, and on the day of his death Pasolini was scheduled to meet with the thieves in an attempt to regain possession of these reels. Are these two events connected? I can't say for sure, but where there's smoke...
For those who know the film Salo, it may shock you that I have already seen the film before, and yes I did willing chose to watch it again. I wasn't forced to by psychotic Italian aristocrats. When I first watched the film I didn't truly watch it with the analytical eye that I should have. About four years ago a friend and I had what we called, "a fucked up movie marathon", where we found four of the most insane, over the top, and of course, fucked up movies we could find. Our pleasant afternoon was accompanied by A Serbian Film Uncut, Salo, Pink Flamingos, and Antichrist, in that order. This combination of films all in succession would probably kill the average moviegoer, but our stomachs of steel were ready for the occasion, however, our minds were not. I don't mean that in the literal sense. I didn't go to sleep that night with nightmares of psycho Serbians, aristocrats, and men in drag all trying to kill me in a forest. It was more so that any analytical sense of these films pretty much went out the window. You can only see so much hyper-stylized violence and sex until any meaning behind it just gets lost in the chaos of it all. That being said when we got around to Salo, both of us saw something different in that film, it really stood out amongst the rest. We weren't 100% sure what it was, but from that day it was the film that stuck with me the most. That being said I still didn't really know what to make of it from any larger standpoint aside from its grotesque nature, only that the undertones of the film were noticeable even if I didn't know exactly what they were. Ever since then I've felt the need to rewatch the film and give it the viewing it deserved. When I saw that my local arthouse theater was playing the film in 35mm, well damnit that's an opportunity you just can't turn down.
This leads us to the film Pasolini. A 2014 passion project from director Abel Ferrara. The film follows Pasolini during his final days before he would succumb to his untimely end. In preparation for my rewatch of Salo, I wanted to watch Pasolini to try and gain new insight into the film and the effect it would have on the life, death, and career of its artist. The afternoon before my screening of Salo I watched Pasolini and I have to say, I feel pretty mixed about it. Starring Willem Dafoe as Pasolini, the film certainly has the talent to back it up, but ironically I found that the meaning just wasn't there. The film moves at a snail's pace and doesn't really offer anything much to the viewer. It's certainly a film for a niche audience. A niche that I thought I was in. I mean really how many people are out there that are specifically interested in the life and death of an underground arthouse filmmaker like Pasolini. I'm not saying it's an uninteresting story, because I think it's quite fascinating. But Pasolini doesn't have the wide appeal of filmmakers such as Spielberg or Scorsese. The film also requires a decent amount of background knowledge on Pasolini and his final days, making it even more alienating to most audiences. It gives you very little background on who he was and why things are happening. The whole film serves as a day in the life more than anything else.
What Pasolini truly ends up being is a pseudo-TED talk from Ferrara, that is told vicariously through Pasolini for 87 minutes. The film features segments of interviews with Pasolini as he spouts off philosophies about life and human nature. It should be poetic given the context of the film, but everything feels so disjointed that almost all effect is lost. Things just happen, there are very few ties that bind. I could maybe forgive this if the film was more visually unique. Besides the admittedly stunning cinematography from the intro and outro of the film, everything plays very safe with standard wide, medium, close, rinse and repeat.
That doesn't mean that the film doesn't have interesting concepts, because it definitely does. One of the most unique aspects of the film is how it incorporates Pasolini's next project post-Salo. The film creates segments of the would-be film as Pasolini discusses it, almost serving as two films in one. The issue is that this secondary film also feels just as disjointed as the main film it occupies. It tries to find connective and philosophical tissue with Pasolini, commenting on the circle of life, but it once again just feels meaningless. The film as a whole just feels like a case of breaking the "show don't tell" rule, instead opting to tell you exactly what it's thinking and feeling instead of making us the audience feel it ourselves. It all feels so unfitting for a film about Pasolini.
It's not all bad, performances are good, Willem Dafoe kills it as always, the music is good, and the ideas are there, it's just a bit messy. I did find myself learning some new things about Pasolini and I still found aspects of the film interesting, just not enough to really win me over. Pasolini's strongest suit is probably its runtime. Clocking in at just under 90 minutes, the film is a quick breeze and is just a bit longer than most episodes of modern TV. Because of that, even though I didn't really enjoy the film, I didn't find it a huge waste of time and I still had more time in the day not eaten away. It also gave me a chance to reflect some more before finally watching Salo. Overall I found that while Pasolini had its moments, it didn't give me enough to satisfy my interest.
So finally here comes the big one, Salo. It's important to set the stage for this one. As mentioned earlier I saw this at my local arthouse theater. The film was played to a literally sold-out audience and was screened on 35mm film. I'm not a stickler for formats like some others are, but watching this on a slightly beat-up 35mm print definitely added to the atmosphere and tone of the film. It had a grindhouse "you shouldn't be watching this" feel, which made things kind of fun. When the time came I made sure to get there early so I could get a good seat. As I waited for the film to start the speakers of the theater were playing remixes of old 80's pop songs that were dramatically slowed down and played with extremely heavy reverb. Specifically, Walk like an Egyptian and Heaven is a Place on Earth. It sounded like a cross between doom metal and DJ Screw from an alternate universe. It was from the album Slugfest Vol 1 by Chipmunks on 16 Speed. If those words I just said made any sense to you then I'd like to congratulate you because that is starting to get so deep into internet bullshitery I feel sorry for anybody that's gone down that far into the rabbit hole. Nevertheless, the music was insanely hypnotic and really drove me into a trance. It felt like I was sinking into my seat as the vibrant and colorful logo of the theater was projected onto the black curtains covering the screen before the start of the film. As the theater started to fill I noticed how many people brought dates to the movie. I have to say that if you are willing to see this movie with a partner, then god bless you. You deserve an award for being that good of a sport.
But enough about psychedelic music and bad date nights. Time to talk movies. How is Italian band camp anyways? Well the food is shit, and the counselors are assholes, but hey at least the music's good, and dancing is allowed. So it's not all bad vibes. Serving as the Avengers Endgame of the "Sorry Mom Cinematic Universe" Salo puts us front and center to the brutality and total corruption that comes with unrestricted power. As fascist ideals began to rise once again in Italy during the 1970s, Pasolini, a communist, clearly felt the fear that came with the territory of the fascist movement. In contrast, Pasolini takes us back to where it all began in WW2 Italy, living under the fascist rule of Mussolini. Almost like a reverse power fantasy, we the audience are subjugated to unrelenting rule, vicious torment, and unrestrained power of the ruling class. Power can strip away our morals and lead us to indulge in any pleasure or fantasy, no matter how sickening or deranged.
Salo's strong message matches its quality. While enjoy is probably not the word I would use, I thought the film was very well made. The directing is bold and isn't afraid to kick you while you‘re down. The film's technical aspects are up to par, designed to lay the groundwork instead of being overtly stylized like similar work from Gaspar Noe or Lars Von Trier. Ennio Morricone's score is haunting yet beautiful, setting up a powerful bookend to the film. While the camera work is minimalistic, it allows the actors to do all the talking, giving us a window into both their pain and pleasure. Pasolini is very particular with his choices in composition and editing. Knowing when to cut seems to be a dying art form, but Salo puts the power of the edit on full display. Pasolini's vision is strong and it shows. That being said the film isn't perfect. Nothing is overtly wrong with it, it could probably be a bit tighter in some places, and a couple of performances and lines can come off as a bit awkward and stiff. Part of that may have to do with the language barrier and translation, but I personally never found huge issues with it. I think most audiences with struggle with the subject matter more than anything else.
Salo's most powerful scene comes from three simple but truly effective lines of dialogue. In the film, the captives are given a strict set of rules to follow. They are told that any rule-breaking will be met with severe punishment. Assuming the sentence is death, one of the captives goes out of their way to overtly break rules in hopes of escaping the never-ending nightmare. After finally being told that he will receive his punishment, a gun is put to his head. Finally the sweet release. Then... the gun goes click. No bullets. "You must be stupid to think that death would be so easy. Don't you know we intend to kill you a thousand times? To the end of eternity, if eternity can have an end." These words really drive home the central theme of Salo. If we live under such rule we are destined to die, die every day, watch our family and friends die, and watch our whole worlds crumble around us. It's devastating but effective.
While Pasolini was definitely a leftist, I don't think this film takes one narrow political view. I personally see it as a commentary on any kind of unrestrained form of power. It doesn't matter if the ruling class is comprised of aristocrats or government officials. Be it fascist or communist, if we are living under this kind of rule, we may as well be eating shit and getting our eyes gouged out. Pasolini may disagree with my view of communism, but my point still stands. It stands even larger than ever with the recent rise in political extremism. Whether it's a mob trying to overtake our nation's capital and overturn an election, Russia's dictatorship that commits war crimes against the people of Ukraine, or China's genocide of the Ughar Muslims, the embrace of political extremism is stronger than it's been in a long time. Without a truly bold look at where these roads lead, many will fail to see the future they are building, and that the walls will inevitably come crashing down. Sometimes I wish Salo was more palatable so that more audiences could understand the true dangers of embracing political extremism, but is that fair when governments rape, kill, and torture their own people? Is it really right to ask people to drink a glass of diet fascism while others needlessly suffer? I guess that's not a question I can answer. Is it more important to portray reality or spread a neutered message?
Salo leaves as a film to be felt if it is to be believed. Of course, the message of "corruption and total power vacuums are bad" isn't that mindblowing, but feeling it, to truly comprehend the effect of that message, is a whole other world. It's what Salo aims to and in my eyes ultimately archives. It believes that if we are to truly understand the danger that comes with embracing this kind of political ideology then we must experience it in some form. Is it a film I can recommend to everyone? No. But if you are among the few that can push through I encourage you to try. Live in this world and feel what these characters feel. Breathe the air they breathe. If you leave Salo a broken mess, then just imagine how the real people on the other side of that screen feel.
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
Director Pier Paolo Pasolini
Runtime 1 Hr 57 Min
Format 35mm
Release Date 1975
Pasolini
Director Abel Ferrara
Runtime 1 Hr 24 Min
Format Digital (Streaming)
Release Date 2014