Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodome (Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma)
This year, Pier Paolo Pasolini would have been 100 years old. From his first writings in his youth to his early death in 1975, he has traced a path and a body of work - cinematographic, literary, essayistic - that has never ceased to nourish reflection, fuel debate and inspire artists and thinkers over the decades. As part of the PPP / RRR: Pier Paolo Pasolini / Riprese Reprises Retakes academic colloquium on Pasolini's contemporary legacy, scheduled to take place in Montreal and Ottawa at the end of September, we pay tribute to the filmmaker by highlighting his impact on the present. In the form of a series of double programs, this cycle proposes to put some of his major films in dialogue with those of contemporary filmmakers, in the presence of some of them, researchers or special guests.
For more information on the PPP / RRR: Pier Paolo Pasolini / Riprese Reprises Retakes conference, visit labdoc.uqam.ca
Towards the end of the Second World War, in a sumptuous villa, fascists indulge in perverse and cruel pleasures with young men recruited for their beauty.
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini was born in Bologna in 1922, the son of a military officer and a schoolteacher. During World War II, he began teaching, but was deeply affected by the death of his brother, a partisan fighter. In 1949, Pasolini was accused of corrupting minors and had to give up teaching. He was also expelled from the Communist Party due to his homosexuality, although this didn't deter him from his Marxist beliefs. He moved to Rome, where his early writings stirred both controversy and acclaim. Pasolini then turned to cinema, initially writing scripts for others before directing his own films in the early 1960s. His filmography grew increasingly hard to categorize, blending political and mystical themes. He was a relentless critic of fascism, bourgeois conformity, consumerism, and globalization. Frequently at odds with his era, Pasolini's career was marked by trials, controversies, and censorship, culminating in 1975 with the release of his most infamous and provocative film, Salò, shortly before his mysterious assassination.
Photo : Bruno Massenet | Collections de la Cinémathèque québécoise
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Le passage de Pasolini au cinéma s’est fait par l’écrit : romancier et poète en premier lieu, il est sollicité pour ses talents de scénariste avant de réaliser ses propres films. Ce dialogue entre l’écrit et le cinéma se poursuivra tout au long de son parcours, au gré des adaptations.
