Accattone (1961)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Accattone (1961) – P. P. Pasolini

Pasolini’s first film as a director; he was previously a poet, writer, and screenwriter; for example, of Fellini’s Nights of Cabiria (1957).  Similar to that earlier film, Accattone focuses on people living on the lower rungs of society’s ladder, but it isn’t quite neo-realism.  Instead, Pasolini’s film has a lyrical and intense quality (and a startling dream sequence) that brings it closer to the films of the arthouse masters (Bergman comes to mind).  Accatone himself (a charismatic Franco Citti) is a scumbag, convincing girls to become prostitutes because he doesn’t want to work himself (his nickname equates to beggar/exploiter/freeloader).  But Pasolini doesn’t want to judge him – he shows us Accatone’s tender side as well as his weaknesses.  We see him try honest physical labour for pay (and give up on it straightaway).  In his context, a bunch of shiftless guys on the street, some thieves, mostly the idle poor, he is the class clown, the butt of all jokes -- and he seems to relish it.  Despite (or because of) the seediness of the milieu and the transgressive acts on display, the film is mesmerizing and probably shocking for its time (although Pasolini would shock even more in his later films).  The cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli is beautiful (though the environs are not); the actors often look straight into the camera offering beautiful portraits for the viewer.  In the end, this heightens our sympathy for those who are barely scraping by (and nevertheless often enjoying themselves) in line with Pasolini’s Marxist philosophy.  A great debut.