Edipo Re (1967)

Based on the Greek tragedy about a man who, unaware of his true parentage, kills his father and marries his mother.

Engaging, slow-paced retelling of the Greek classic, beautifully set in Moroccan landscape, is framed within a modern story which barely corresponds to the historic tale.

Halliwell**: "Austerely involving adaptation of the Greek tragedy, sandwiched between scenes set in modern Italy."

Maltin**1/2: "Pictorially arresting but dull, disappointing adaptation..."

Teorema (1968)

A mysterious young man seduces each member of a bourgeois family and changes their lives.

Although told quite straightforwardly, this tale is charged with political, existential and religious implications without giving any answers; a riddle of sorts.

Halliwell*:  "Moderately amusing fable with the presumed intent of decrying all universal panaceas, including Christianity."

Maltin**: "Pointed, but obvious, occasionally hokey political/sexual fable..."

The Movies I Watched in August

The BFG (2016)  6
Call Me By You Name (2017)  6
Detroit (2017)  7

The Eichmann Show (2015)  6
Der Fall X701 (1964)  4
The Family (2019)  6
Flaming Creatures (1963)  7

The Great Hack (2019)  7

The Great Man (1956)  6
Gui lai (2014)  7

Home Movies (1979)  6
Idaho Transfer (1973)  7

Jeremiah Johnson (1972)  8

The Lake House (2006)  5
A League of Their Own (1992)  7

A Life at Stake (1955)  6
A Little Bit of Heaven (2011)  6
Madame Claude (1977)  5
Manhunt: The Unabomber (2017)  7

Midnight Ride (1990)  5
Mindhunter, Season 2 (2019)  7

Mudbound (2017)  7

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)  7

Teorema (1968)  8

Vice (2018)  7

Watership Down (2017)  7

Die Weibchen (1970)  6

Uccellacci e uccellini (1966)

Innocenti Totò and his son Innocenti Ninetto are drifting on a road in Italy, when they meet a Marxist speaking crow, so the trio travels together in a long journey as their hunger increases.

Unusual and entertaining comedy appears like a Christian with Marxist commentary, but shows its love for the poor and simple people with a hearty sense of humour.

Halliwell**: "A comic fable of a search for faith, sometimes reminiscent of Chaplin in its slapstick identification with the poor and dispossessed, of innocents abroad in a cynical world."

Pasolini (2014)

A kaleidoscopic look at the last day of Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini in 1975.

Demure, but intense and intriguing study with a great performance by Willem Dafoe in the title role doesn't shy away from the complexity of Pasolini's personality.

New Stuff: Pasolini

I'm really looking forward to watching this movie.

From my library: Enzo Siciliano - Pasolini

Imagine the shock of being in your teenage beginnigns of becoming a film enthusiast, and one day you open the newspaper and read about the shocking death of Pier Paolo Pasolini. I probably hadn't seen any of his movies yet, but certainly had read a lot about them. This is most likely the first full biography about Pasolini, published in 1978 (and 1980 in German), and the first biography about a movie director I ever purchased and read.