Teorema (1968)

A mysterious young man seduces each member of a bourgeois family. When he suddenly leaves, how will their lives change?

Director:

Pier Paolo Pasolini

Writer:

Pier Paolo Pasolini (screenplay)

Stars:

Silvana Mangano, Terence Stamp, Massimo Girotti

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Silvana Mangano	...	Lucia, the mother
Terence Stamp	...	The Visitor
Massimo Girotti	...	Paolo, the father
Anne Wiazemsky	...	Odetta, the daughter
Laura Betti	...	Emilia, the servant
Andrés José Cruz Soublette	...	Pietro, the son
Ninetto Davoli	...	Angelino - the Messenger
Carlo De Mejo	...	Boy
Adele Cambria	...	Emilia - the second servant
Luigi Barbini	...	Il ragazzo alla stazione
Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia	...	Second boy (as Ivan Scratuglia)
Alfonso Gatto	...	Doctor

Storyline

A strange visitor in a wealthy family. He seduces the maid, the son, the mother, the daughter and finally the father before leaving a few days after. After he's gone, none of them can continue living as they did. Who was that visitor ? Could he be God ?

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Plot Keywords:

sexuality | visitor | homosexual | homosexuality | bourgeoisie | 

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Taglines:

There are only 923 words spoken in "Teorema" - but it says everything!

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

27 November 1968 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Teorema

Filming Locations:

16 Via Palatino, Milan, Lombardia, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aetos Produzioni Cinematografiche

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 99 min (cinema release) (1971)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Second part of Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Mythical Cycle" also including Oedipus Rex (1967), Porcile (1969) and Medea (1969).

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Quotes

Lucia, the mother: Who is that boy?

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Connections

Referenced in Play It Again, Christos (2007)

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Soundtracks

L'Ultima Corrida
Written and arranged by Ennio Morricone
Orchestra accompanied by I Cantori Moderni di Alessandro Alessandroni
Conducted by Bruno Nicolai

User Reviews

Proof?

When it was released,"teorema" caused a scandal (but not as huge as "Salo" seven years later).However,it won the Catholic Office of Cinema prize.How come? Maybe because sex is these people's road of Damascus.The Angel,played by Terence Stamp,might one of the two messengers who came to Sodom in order to warn Lot.Some claimed that Pasolini wanted to reconcile Christians and Marxists:it is not impossible,considering the father's (Massimo Girotti) attitude who divests himself of all that he possesses.But as for the other characters,I do not think that the proof is really convincing. Finally,Pasolini is more talented when he tackles myths and religions ("Gospel according to St Matthews","Medea","Oedipe Re")and those flicks tell us more about our "modern" behaviors than something as far-fetched as "teorema".

NB:"Teorema" was deemed so scandalous that the trailer did not show any scenes of the movie but consisted of the cast and credits over an almost white screen (or maybe one picture of Stamp and Mangano).