ACCATTONE (1961)

In the slums outside of Rome, we meet a group of young men passing the time by betting on whether or not it's dangerous to go swimming right after eating. The charismatic and handsome Accattone (a nickname which translates as "beggar") is liked but not necessarily respected among the group; he's a pimp whose wife has left him (along with their young son) and who lives with his only prostitute, Maddalena. He also takes care of another woman and her children whose husband is in jail. Accattone is lazy, expressing the attitude that people shouldn't have to work. "Beasts work," he says, and later proclaims, "Either the world kills me or I kill it." He makes Maddalena work even though she has injured her leg, and a rival gang of pimps approach her one night and beat her up. She goes to the police to file charges, but winds up in jail for prostitution (or maybe for false witness, I wasn't sure). Accattone tries to get back in his wife's good graces but her father won't allow it. Instead he steals a religious necklace from his son to sell. A lovely working girl named Stella falls in with Accattone and he tries to convince her to turn whore but she starts crying on her very first job. Next his brother gets him work at a junkyard, but when his buddies mock him, he decides it's below him and quits. What's left besides begging is thieving. A happy ending is not in store. This is the first feature film from Catholic Marxist director Pier Paolo Pasolini, and if you look for it, you will find a political viewpoint here concerning the lives of the struggling and underprivileged. If there is a Catholic viewpoint present, it's harder to find—there is a scene involving a communal meal which Accattone calls a 'last supper' and he can be seen as a Christ figure, I suppose. The background music is sacred music by Bach. The film is often called neorealist because of its focus on slum life and its use of non-professional actors but some critics deny this based on Pasolini's artistic visual style and use of camera. Though it's not glossy looking, it might be said to verge on poetic realism at times. The title role was the first for Franco Citti, though he went on to a lengthy acting career, and the camera (or maybe just Pasolini) loves his face which is featured frequently in close-ups. He mostly looks insolent and depressed, sometimes sensual, but also hard to read which works for the role. For me, his political convictions, such as they are, feel lightly held, an excuse for not wanting to work. The rest of the characters are mostly flat and the acting feels amateur, but that's not really a negative here. Accattone is not likable and largely ends up feeling like a symbol rather than a real person, but Pasolini might have intended that. Watchable but not compelling, though I respect the fact that Citti doesn't use tricks to make his character easier to like. The actor is charismatic but Accattone isn't. [Criterion Channel]