I watched this film late one night (after my parents were in bed), and for a while it was merely uncomfortable to sit through. The actors weren't particularly emotional, the sets weren't hugely exciting, and the storyline consisted of four libertines and their accomplices listening to dirty stories and doing dirty things to their child victims.
And yet, halfway through this blasé piece, I began crying. It was, I believe, at a part where the whore was telling one her sick stories while dancing with the libertine, and she begins laughing as if it is the funniest thing in the world. And yet the laugh sounds false--not just false, but hopeless. I cried off and on (though more on than off) the rest of the film, and from now on I cannot think about "Salo" without tearing up; I am trying not to cry even as I write this.
What makes "Salo" the most disturbing film I have ever watched, no competition? It is not the acts depicted--the coprophilia, the torture, the murder, the betrayal. It is that supreme and utter hopelessness behind the whore's laugh. It is the insatiable desires of the libertines, constantly fed and yet never quenched. It is the victims who are willing to sell each other out in order to escape just a little bit more torture before their inevitable death.
The novel described the four libertines as being people who not only did as much evil as they possibly could, but also as people who went out of their way to avoid doing anything virtuous. Pier Paolo Pasolini has extended this bleak outlook to the entire human race. The entire film is soaked with his utter hatred and disgust for humanity--nobody in this film has a redeeming side, not even the victims. Everyone in this film is going to die--even the libertines, sometime after the film comes to its conclusion, are going to be tried for war crimes as part of the Fascist regime. Pasolini paints a portrait of the human race as a race that is wallowing in the lowest depths of misery as it drags itself towards its own demise.
There is no moral to this story. Pasolini figures that the human race will merely ignore the moral if he tries to give one. Neither does he try to spruce up this film with interesting acting or camera-work. The direction is bland and the cinematography is largely static--and therein lies its greatest (or is it its worst?) talent. It is as if Pasolini is looking up at the human race from behind the camera, his face gaunt and hopeless, considering the various ways to spice up the scene before saying: "Why bother? You are worthless; this film will not satisfy your desires, whatever they may be."
Which leads me to one last question: how the heck did I give this 10 stars? And how the heck can I possibly recommend it to any of you? It was upsetting, disturbing, and appalling. And yet it has changed my life--for the better? For the worse? Does is crush my hopes for humanity, or does it give me an understanding of its darkest facets and how best to avoid them? Look, people, I don't rightly know! I'm still figuring it out!
To most of you: stay the heck away from this film. But to a few of you--a very, very few--those few that want to see this movie for more than its shock value, those few that are willing to explore humanity's darkest recesses, those few that are not mainstream moviegoers and are actually willing to think--I recommend, no I BEG you to watch "Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom." You will never forget it.
And yet, halfway through this blasé piece, I began crying. It was, I believe, at a part where the whore was telling one her sick stories while dancing with the libertine, and she begins laughing as if it is the funniest thing in the world. And yet the laugh sounds false--not just false, but hopeless. I cried off and on (though more on than off) the rest of the film, and from now on I cannot think about "Salo" without tearing up; I am trying not to cry even as I write this.
What makes "Salo" the most disturbing film I have ever watched, no competition? It is not the acts depicted--the coprophilia, the torture, the murder, the betrayal. It is that supreme and utter hopelessness behind the whore's laugh. It is the insatiable desires of the libertines, constantly fed and yet never quenched. It is the victims who are willing to sell each other out in order to escape just a little bit more torture before their inevitable death.
The novel described the four libertines as being people who not only did as much evil as they possibly could, but also as people who went out of their way to avoid doing anything virtuous. Pier Paolo Pasolini has extended this bleak outlook to the entire human race. The entire film is soaked with his utter hatred and disgust for humanity--nobody in this film has a redeeming side, not even the victims. Everyone in this film is going to die--even the libertines, sometime after the film comes to its conclusion, are going to be tried for war crimes as part of the Fascist regime. Pasolini paints a portrait of the human race as a race that is wallowing in the lowest depths of misery as it drags itself towards its own demise.
There is no moral to this story. Pasolini figures that the human race will merely ignore the moral if he tries to give one. Neither does he try to spruce up this film with interesting acting or camera-work. The direction is bland and the cinematography is largely static--and therein lies its greatest (or is it its worst?) talent. It is as if Pasolini is looking up at the human race from behind the camera, his face gaunt and hopeless, considering the various ways to spice up the scene before saying: "Why bother? You are worthless; this film will not satisfy your desires, whatever they may be."
Which leads me to one last question: how the heck did I give this 10 stars? And how the heck can I possibly recommend it to any of you? It was upsetting, disturbing, and appalling. And yet it has changed my life--for the better? For the worse? Does is crush my hopes for humanity, or does it give me an understanding of its darkest facets and how best to avoid them? Look, people, I don't rightly know! I'm still figuring it out!
To most of you: stay the heck away from this film. But to a few of you--a very, very few--those few that want to see this movie for more than its shock value, those few that are willing to explore humanity's darkest recesses, those few that are not mainstream moviegoers and are actually willing to think--I recommend, no I BEG you to watch "Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom." You will never forget it.