Pier Paolo Pasolini and the Memory of Martyrdom in New Italian Cinema

Author(s): Dana Renga

Source: Italica, Vol. 85, No. 2/3 (Summer - Autumn, 2008), pp. 197-209
Published by: American Association of Teachers of Italian
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40505802
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PierPaoloPasoliniandtheMemory
inNewItalianCinema
ofMartyrdom
siamosoli,noncichiami
Signore,
pi!
Nonciguardipu,annoperanno,giorno
pergiorno!
Di quailnostro
di l ilTuosplendore,
scuro,
malenonhaincollera
ncompassione.
perilnostro
Niente
da trenta
niente
cambiato:
secoli,
Si unitoilpopolo,e unitocombatte,
dinoi,
male maledi ognuno
Ma ilnostro
spartire
maleo beneIo saisoloTu!
- PierPaoloPasolini,
"Lameglio
(2003:157)
gioventu"
2 November
2005markedthirty
yearssincethemurderofPierPaolo
remembered
Pasolini,a tragicanniversary
by a seriesofconferences,
Pasolini's name,of
filmseries,televisionprograms,and exhibits1.
and filmcourse,evokesan eraofsocialrevolt,as muchofhiswriting
and otherwise)directlycritiquedthe serious
making(documentary
faceofpower.The periodto whichPasolini's mostwell knownwork
withpoliticaland socialunrestand economic
canbe datedwas fraught
therise
and is remembered
bystudentand workerstrikes,
uncertainty
and the
and spreadofthemafia,government
ofterrorism
corruption
in how
Thisarticleis interested
movement.
ofa feminist
development
inTheDreamers
inCarodirio(1994),Bernardo
Bertolucci
NanniMoretti
(2003)and MarcoTullioGiordanain I centopassi(2000)and La meglio
(2003)utilizetheculturalstatusofPasolinito theirownends.
giovent
to Pasoliniin thesefilmsrecallan
Implicitand explicitreferences
etc.)
engaged(socially,politically, Italy.However,Pasolini's statusas
and undermined.
is continually
Oftentimes,
problematicized
martyr
his memoryis associatedwithliminalspaces;in Carodirio,thepetheinterior
madnessand
ofRome,elsewhere,
{TheDreamers,)
riphery
cento
conflicts
or
suicide{La meglio
{I
passi).Rarely,
gioventu) Oedipal
if ever,is Pasolinidirectlylinkedto theurbansphereand all of its
socialand economicstruggles2.
political,
accompanying
s Carodiriotakes
One of themostpoignantmomentsof Moretti'
"In
the
film's
first
of
the
end
towards
vignette, vespa,"whenproplace
abandoned
urbancenterofRome(itis the
leaves
the
Michle
tagonist
suchas touring
middleofAugust)aftera chaoticarrayofencounters
on his vespa, watchinga group dance the
variousneighborhoods
a criticwho positivelyreaboutinterrogating
fantasizing
merengue,
a
Serial
and
viewedHenry:Portrait
Killer, questioningan alarmed
of
Beales
about
her
tojourneytothesitewherePasolini
footwear,
Jennifer
ItlicaVolume
85Numbers
2-3(2008)

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198

Dana Renga

was violently
murderedearlyin themorning
justover30 yearsago.
The vespa rideto theneglectedmemorialin Ostia lastsa protracted
accentuates
3 and 1/2minutes,and itscinematography
undoubtedly
thedrawnoutnatureoftheshot:thesinglelongtakeis comprisedof
a followingshot(typicalof Moretti'scinema)withoutdialogue,and
fromtheupbeatLatin
and distinct
theextra-diegetic
musicis haunting,
ofPasolini'sown
Like
several
in
this
soundtrack
episode.
predominant
suchas Accatonefromtheeponymousfilmof1961or Toto
characters
e uccellini(1964),or Lidia fromAntonioni'sL'eclisse
fromUccellacci
ofthe
tobe mostat ease on thefringes
is
Michle
demonstrated
(1961),
urbancenter.
thefilmbecomesmore
As Michlejourneysfromcityto periphery,
mise-en-scne:
and
in
both
Pasolini's
akinto
Here,the
technique
opus
Ostian
seaside
of
the
barrenand impoverished
(repletewith
landscape
and
construction
half
finished
weeds,garbage,straydogs,
dilapidated
to one ofPasolini'searlierfilms
buildings)couldeasilybe transferred
such as MammaRoma (1962) or Uccellaccie uccellini,to a series of his

or to thecollectionof
novelssetin thesqualoroftheRomanborgate,
poems Le ceneridi Gramsci(1957), repletewithragazzidi vita.

forhis cinematograMorettidrawshis inspiration

Clearly,director
of
as a whole,froma variety
phyin thissequence,and forthevignette
Moretti
on cinema.In particular,
Pasolini'sfilmsand treatises
approxi- in
- to borrowPasolini'sterminology
matesa "cinemaof poetry"
ofshotsand pointsofviewcreatesa psychologithatthejuxtaposition
callychargedspace thatsurpassesthecelluloidimage.Muchlikethe
languageofpoetrywheresenseis evokednotfromthewordsthemwithinthetext,meaningin thissegselves,but fromtheirinterplay
Thespectator
itsvisualstyle3.
filmis createdthrough
mentofMoretti's
notonlysees whatMichlesees,buthow he sees and reactsto it.The
followingcamera is combinedwith deep-focusin orderto track
Michlethroughthecityscapeand beyond,allowingslow,evocative
Pasolini's"soggettiva
disclosuresof how he readshis environments.
that
liberaindiretta"
disavowsa personalviewoftheworld- whether
- replacingitwitha typeofcinemawhose
oftheactorsor thedirector
focusis style.
primary
on
Morettiretraces
thepaththatPasolinimighthavetakenhimself
as theprevioussequenceof
thenightofhis death.Thisis significant
Carodiriorecallsanothertypeofatrociousdemise:thatofthesplatter
Portrait
film,epitomizedherebyJohnMcNaughton's
ofa Serial
Henry:
Killerof 1986.As one formof violentmurderturnsto thenext,the
loaded tranvieweris leftto pondertheweightofsucha thematically
inthebriefimagesofthemeis furthered
sition.Thethanatosleitmotiv
recallanotherviolent,
morialitself:thefinal30 secondsofthisvignette
fence
thechain-link
in
zoom-in
that
the
slow
death
mass,
through
yet
weeds callsto
memorialobscuredby overgrown
towardsa crumbing

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in New ItalianCinema
Martyrdom

199

mindtheclosingmoments
ofAlainResnais'NightandFog(1955)orthe
the
and
zooms
of
many abandoned concentration
pans
camps in
s Shoah(1984).Morettiis askingthatthreetypesof
Claude Lanzmann'
brutaldeathbe contemplated:
onethatcanbe read(as Michledoes) as
in Henry,one (Pasolini's)as bothdeeplypersonaland
sensationalist
politicalto Moretti(who dateshis own politicalpositionto Pasolini's
one thatimpliesa muchbroader
mostengagedperiod)and, finally,
of
these
three
machine.
None
is privileged.
however,
killing
positions,
with
citation
a
sense
of
ironic
Moretti's
is
detachment;
Instead,
replete
film(in thatit is
a sentiment
made clearwhen,as thispostmodern
to
episodic,focusedon new medias,and so on) abruptlytransitions
the followingsegment'Isole/' the vieweris leftat an impasse,as
Pasolini'sdeath(alongwiththatof millionsof othersifwe read the
of the
memorialas I do above) is pushedaside fora contemplation
infact,someelementsthatmakeup
soap operaand thenuclearfamily;
so vocallyand vehemently
the ideologicalframework
protestedby
Pasoliniforso manyyears.
Pasolini
Memorialsgenerally
and,historically,
conjureup martyrs,
to theItalianleft.Ironically,
to as a martyr
even the
is oftenreferred
offbase filmcriticwho Michlechastisesbringsup the creationof
in Henry:"II registarisvegliail suo pubblicoin un incubo
martyrs
occhiinfilzati,
carne
ancorapeggiorecon una docciafinaledi splatter,
flesh"ofHenry'svictimsanticmartoriata."
Mentionofthe"martyred
Thispeto wherePasoliniwas murdered.
ipatesMichele'spilgrimage
Moretti's
on boththefailure
furthers
culiarjuxtaposition
commentary
of1968and a generalabsenceofdirectly
ofthegeneration
engagedpoItalianculturalscene(a motiflaid
liticalfiguresin thecontemporary
thefilm,wheresoap operasand slasherfilmshave
bare throughout
Elio Petrior the
the
cinema
impegnatoof Lina Wertmuller,
replaced
earlierBernardoBertolucci).
how CarodiriomarksMoretti'sreMillicentMarcusdemonstrates
cinema
treatfroma directly
(290-291).Thisfilmis muchmore
engaged
in
and
than
his earlierPalombella
rossaof
thematic
personal technique
1989,forexample,an obvioussatiricalfarceofthePCI. Ofcourse,like
in Pasolini'sopus, thepersonalis alwayspolitical4.
Whatis striking
of
the
cultural
status
of
Pasolinias marhereis thatMoretti's
adoption
in
a
of
1990s
is
not
meant
as
the
critique Italy
(yes,Pasolini
only
tyr
but
also condemnedmass mediasand patriarchal
familystructures,
themultipleironiesinherent
is sayingmorethanthat).Rather,
Moretti
to
in Moretti'shomageimplya deep and ambivalentrelationship
and activist.
Pasolinias filmmaker
in Italyin
is theroleofthemartyr
What,then,accordingtoMoretti,
flesh"ofHenry'svictims,
the1990s?Is the"martyred
then,meantto
replacethatof the poet, novelist,dramatist,painter,screenwriter,
director,
journalistand critic,someonewho was involvedin every

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200

Dana Renga

aspectofItalianculturallife?Or,couldMoretti,
alongwithBertolucci
and Giordana,be appropriating
victhestatusofPasolinias sacrificial
timfortheirown ends?Pasoliniis a palimpsest,
as explicitor implicit
a series
in thesefilmsdo notsolelyrepresent
to thedirector
references
ofhomages.Instead,theyholda deepermeaningthatalludesto a seriesofdeaths:notonlyto theliteraldeathofthedirector
himself,
but,
from
certain
of
auteur
as
a
whole.
Aside
to
that
the
also,
aspectsof
film
or innovaCarodirio,
noneofthefilmsI addresshereare remarkable
tivefroma stylistic
pointofview.In fact,New ItalianCinemais frein
termsofitspoliticalor socialmessage;yet,rarely
discussed
quently
Moreand more,
willa filmbreaknew groundin termsoftechnique.5
films
Italian
recentand commercially
relyon traditional
popular
in
and cinematheir
resolution
formulas
soundtrack,
Hollywood
think
films
of
Ferzan
of
the
Ozpetek,Gabriele
tography(one might
Salvatoresor GabrieleMuccino,forexample). However,Pasolini
trends.Incinematographic
rarely,if ever,cateredto contemporary
films
their
(in
form,
stead,his
casting,
dialogue,soundsubjectmatter,
directors
while
these
track)weredecisivelyalienating.
rely
Ultimately,
in orderto
with
Pasolini
on theweightofculturalmemoryassociated
inthesefilms
ofmessages,a seriesofmise-en-abmes
forward
a variety
in the1960s
ofseveralsocialmovements
attestto thefailureor futility
and 1970s.
In its protagonists'
acute relianceon the fantasyworld of film,
allusionto a
TheDreamers
makesthemostself-conscious
Bertolucci's
choosesto lockthemofdefeat:thetrioofprotagonists
consciousness
fine
selvesup in Isabelleand Theos'bourgeoisapartment,
preferring
winesand sexualadventureto politicalprotest.
AlthoughPasoliniis
tohis
evokedhereonlyimplicitly
(inthatthefilmbearsa resemblance
- or he,alongwithnuTeorema
of1968- thesameyearas theprotests
merousotherdirectors
of his time,protestedthe firingof Langlois)
at theonset
Bertolucci's
messageis clear:despitetheirbestintentions
ofthefilm,civilinsurgence
is nota realisticoptionforthislot.Their
rebellionis aestheticand notethical,made clearat thebeginningof
the filmwhen theAmericanMatthewcomesacrossIsabellewho is
"chained"to thegatesofthecinemateque.
WhenMatthewasks after
herformofprotest,
she revealshertrick:as she effortlessly
untangles
herarmsfromthechains,Matthewrealizesherillusion.
Clear in thefilmis an anxietybetweenthepoliticaland theperthat
of thestudentmovements
sonal,thelottaor sognorivoluzionario
has as itsend a changeoftheculturallandscapeand thetrio'svarious
In theend,thisfilmis aboutthevarious
sexualand filmicadventures.
modesofexpression(corporeal,
cinematographic,
political)feasiblein
unmistakdifferent
thebody,as Bertolucci
eras.Throughcelebrating
The
does
Dreamers
a
form
of
somewhat
here,
ably
engenders
protest
akinto Pasolini'sown,in that,althoughthesebodiesapproximate
the

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in New ItalianCinema
Martyrdom

201

Hollywoodideal and are nothinglike thoseseen in Pasolini's Sal

(1971)orOedipusRex(1967),forexample,themes
(1975),TheDecameron
sharein the ethosof Pasolini's opus: esof incestor masturbation
enticement.6
over
Moreover,Bertolucci'sfilmapproxitrangement
withregardsto thevariousstudentmovematesPasolini'ssentiments
mentsthroughout
Europein the 1960sand early1970s.Ratherthan
heroes or protagonists,
Pasolini,in "Anche Marcuse adulatore?",
definedthesestudentsas "antagonist^who "mettonoin crisiil loro
mondo borghese per reificarlo"(Saggi sulla polticae sulla societ157)

a sentimentthematizedin the followingconversationin which

afterthelatterreads
MatthewquestionsTheo's politicalengagement
is
not
dinner"
and
thenproceedstouna gala
aloud that"a revolution
corka bottleoffinewine:
Ifyoureallybelievedwhatyouweresayingyou'dbe outthere.
Matthew:
Theo:Where?
Outthere,
on thestreet.
Matthew:
Theo:I don'tknowwhatyoumean.
thatfeelslikeit
Matthew:
There'ssomething
goingon outthere,something
thatfeelslikethingscould change.
couldbe reallyimportant,
something
EvenI getthat.Butyou'renotout there,you'reinsidewithme drinking
expensivewine,talkingabout film,talkingaboutMaoism.Ask yourself
why?I don'tthinkthatyoureallybelieveit,I thinkyoubuythelamp,and
putup theposters.. . .

- here,the
thatTheotreatsa seriesofabstractions
Matthewrecognizes
in a kitschlamppresentin severalshots
Maoistrevolution
personified
- as iftheywereconin thissequenceor his own bourgeoislifestyle
Matthewsees through
creteentities.
this,and callsTheo's reifications
intoquestion.
as thefilmis
Nothingcouldbe closerto thetruthin TheDreamers,
Theo and Isabelle's poetitselfa dreamscapeof a failedrevolution.
fatherunderstands
this;he commentsto Matthew:"My childrenbesit-insand happeningspossessthecapacity
lievethatdemonstrations,
it."He warns,however,
butto transform
notonlyto provokesociety,
"Beforeyou can changetheworld,you mustrealizethatyouyourself
are partof it,you cannotstandoutsideof it lookingin." And thisis
exactlywhatthetriochoosesto do for95 percentofthefilm;theylive
theirlivesthrough
cinema,lookingin ratherthantakingpart,a motif
the film.
reinforced
throughout
throughthe manymise-en-abimes
Scar Face and countReferencesto CityLights,BlondeVenus,Breathless,

The many
less otherfilmsmirrorthe creativeprocessof rebellion7.
film-oriented
and
their
forfeits
in
The
Dreamers
games
accompanying
He spenthoursand hoursat the
recallMatthew'sopeningvoice-over.
cinematheque,he explains,as "the screenreallywas a screen:it
screenedus fromtheworld."Sex replacespolitics,but onlyup to a
point.

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202

Dana Renga

Thefilmdrawstoa conclusionon a powerful

image:on thebrinkof
the
street
as she putsit,"came
that,
suicide,Isabelleis interrupted
by
breaksthewindow.
the
a
into
room"
when
a
rock
from
flying
protestor
induced
awakened
and
from
their
alcohol
dream,thetrio
drug
Finally
WhenMatthewrecomand takesto thestreets.
leavestheapartment
mendspeacefulprotestto violence,statingthattheMolotovcocktail
fascismin a fuckthatTheois aboutto throwat thepoliceis "fucking
"I
the
Theo
am
no
fascist, cops arethefascists."
ingbottle/'
responds:
Those familiarwithPasolini'scornerstone
poem "II PCI ai giovani,"
For
will
criticism.
in
written
(onceagain) 1968,
appreciateBertolucci's
the
revolution
1968
a
of
was
Pasolini,
year despair, "true,"yetfailed,
Pasolinideclares:
was thatofthePartisanresistance.
To thesestudents,
Sietepaurosi,incerti,
disperati
ma sapeteanchecomeessere
(benissimo!)
e sicuri:
ricattatori
prepotenti,
amici.
piccolo-borghesi,
prerogative
Quandoierie ValleGiuliaavetefattoa botte
Coi poliziotti,
10simpatizzavo
coi poliziotti!
sonofiglidi poveri.
Perchi poliziottti
e
contadineo urbaneehesiano.(Saggisullaletteratura
Vengonoda periferie,
sull'arte:1440)

The poem continuesto draw parallelsbetweenmentalities

present
during historicalfascismand nazism and those of the student
protestors:
. . . Blandamente
i tempidi Hitlerritornano:
la borghesia
Amapunirsiconle sue propriemani.
Chiedoperdonoa quei milleo due milagiovanimieifratelli
eheoperanoa Trento
o a Torino
a Pavia o a Pisa,
a Firenzee un po' anchea Roma,
ma devo dire:il Movimento
Studentesco
i vangelila cui lettura
nonfrequenta
i suoi adulatoridi mezzaetgliattribuiscono,
ricattatrici:
persentirsi
giovanie crearsiverginit
una sola cosa glistudenti
realmente
conoscono:
11moralismo
dei padremagistrato
o professionista,
la violenzaconformista
del fratello
maggiore
avviatoperla stradadei padre),
(naturalmente
dio perla culturaeheha la loromadre,di origini
anchese gi lontane.(Saggisullaletteratura
e sull'arte:
1442)
contadine,

Theo is Pasolini'sideal audience.TheDreamers,

readthrough
thelens
of Pasolini'spoem,laysbear thedifficulties
involvedin copingwith
collectivememoriesand atteststo all ofthefailuresof 1968lookedat
fromtheperspective
ofthenewmillennium.8

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in New ItalianCinema
Martyrdom

203

I centopassiand La
Thesamemightbe said forGiordana'stwofilms,
with
both
the
un
Pasolini,
giovent, (along
meglio
pseudo-documentary
delitto
italiano
of19959)alludetohow,inItalyfromthe1960stothenew
ina variety
ofguises,is stillaliveand wellinpolfascism,
millennium,
dominant
socialcodes.Ratherthandesiring
relations
and
itics,gender
Giordanafeelsthatitis essentialtocontinueto critoexorcisefascism,
Italianculture.
Both
fascistideologywithinpost-fascist
tiquesurviving
suchpressinghistorical
moments
theFlorencefloods,
filmsforeground
scandal as seen
the rise of the Red Brigadesand the tangentopoli
Nicola
and
or
the
brothers
Matteo
violentmurder
the
of
through eyes
in 1978whostoodup toMafiosoGaetano(Tano)
ofPeppinoImpestato
Badalamentiin the town of Cinisi outside of Palermo.However,
Giordana'smanyhomagesto Pasolinihereand elsewheredestabilize
overtpoliticalcommentaries.
I.e.,classicbattlesinthesefilms(goodvs.
to combata seriesofsocialinjustices
or
evilas seenin Nicola'sefforts
in Peppino7
s struggleagainstthemafia)are troubledand made amto Pasolini's poems "La megliogiovent"or
biguous,as references
"Supplicaa mia madre"raiseseriousquestionswithregardsto selfdoubtand moralambiguity.
Released in the same year as The Dreamers,La megliogioventalso

sharesin the ethosof Pasolini'spointsof view on violentprotests.

Whilesomeofthefilm'scharacters
(Nicolaand hissisterGiovanna,for
modestobetexample)channeltheirpoliticaloutrageintoproductive
tersociety,
otherschoosedifferent
paths.In joiningtheRed Brigades,
A keyscene
overmediation.
Giuliaoptsformilitarism
Nicola'spartner
filmin itspoliticalmessage.After
similarto Bertolucci's
is strikingly
Matteotellshis brotherthathis friendLuigi (who,likeMatteo,is a
memberofthepoliceforce)was recently
paralyzed(we imaginedurGiulia
a
terrorist
attack),
questionsMatteoover whichside is
ing
di
anni
the
piombo:
"right"during
Giulia:Male.
Matteo:Davvero? perch?
Giulia:Perchstatedalla partesbagliata.
Matteo: qule sarebbela partegiusta?Queiladei poveri?
Giulia:Si esatto.
staredalla partedei poveri.
Matteo:LuigiIo sa megliodi noi ehe significa
Lui povero.Quelloehe1'hacolpitonon povero.Tu sei povera?

TheposterofMao in thestyleofAndyWarholthathangsin thewellappointedapartmentand the discussionof economicclass recall

filmand Pasolini'scritiqueofthe"figlidi papa" whoso reBertolucci's
LikeBertolucci,
Giordana'smessageis
centlyhavetakentothestreets.
thecomclear:froma privilegedgroup,Giuliano betterunderstands
dynamicin ItalythanTheo did. She misunplicatedsocio-economic
derstoodthemessageof Pasolini's12 Dicembre,
1969,(a postercomin
the
event
her
The
made
kitchen).
hangs
documentary,
memorating

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204

Dana Renga

s stancewithregardsto themilienough,givenPasolini7
surprisingly
takesas itssubject
tantleft,withthemilitant
"Lotta
continua/'
group
Bankin Milan on
mattertheinfamousbombingof theAgricultural
12 December1969,thatkilled16 people and wounded58. Although
tookresponsibility
"Ordinenuovo"eventually
PinoRauti'sneo-fascist
dubbed anarchistGiuseppe
forthe bombing,the peacefulprotestor
and interroarrested
was immediately
Pinelli,amongsome400others,
a
fourth
"fell"
from
Pinelli
the
storywingated.During interrogation,
Tunin'sdeathat
dow and,muchliketheaccountofwouldbe anarchist
Pinelli's
1974Filma'amovee d'anarchia,
theend of Lina Wertmuller's
recordedas a suicide.Pasolini's expos of the
death was officially
in Italy.Here
Pinelliaffairrevealstheenduranceof authoritarianism
must
individual
the
that
and elsewherePasoliniposits
present-day
dicafter
historical
even
continueto contestfascistic
mentalities, long
Giulia
and
unlike
buried.
He
tatorsappearto be dead and
Theo,
was,
againstgroupsthatadvocatedviolence.
whochoosedifference
Themessageofthefilm(twobrothers
paths)
The film'snostalgictitleis takenfromPasolini's
is not so clear-cut.
in Friulian,and specifically,
ofpoems,written
eponymouscollections
fromthe concludingpoem of the lengthycollection."La meglio
hereintoTuscan)denouncesthestateofthings
giovent"(translated
in Italy:
siamosoli,nonci chiamipi!
Signore,
Non ci guardipu,annoperanno,giornopergiorno!
Di qua il nostroscuro,di l il Tuosplendore,
peril nostromalenonhai n colleran compassione.
Nienteda trentasecoli,niente cambiato:
Si unitoil popolo,e unitocombatte,
Ma il nostromale maledi ognunodi noi,
spartire
maleo beneIo sai solo Tu!(2003:157)

to the"maledi ognuno
Whatis interesting
hereis Pasolini'sreference
takestheblameoff
di noi,"our"innerenemy"as itwere.Thisattitude
and
ofa selectgroupofindividuals(themafia,thecorrupt
politicians)
it:we are all responsible
forouractions,notGod or the
universalizes
disThis poem mightapply to manyof the characters
government.
and
intellectual
a
failed
cussedhere,butspecifically
to
Matteo,
speaks
reseventualsuicide.Also,thepoem'smentionofGod's ambivalence
onateswithMatteoas he is unable to "spartire"the good and evil
withinhim;he lives struggling
withhis anger.WhenMatteo'srelawith
the
tionship
schizophrenic
Giorgia(he abductsherto hopefully
saveherfromseveralabusesat thelocalasylum)endspoorlywhenthe
police takeher away,Matteorealizesthathe would ratherbe commandedthantakeresponsibility
forthelivesofothers.Consequently,
similarto MarcelloClericiin II conformista
(Bernardo
Bertolucci,
1971),

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in New ItalianCinema
Martyrdom

205

and dedicateshimselfto the

Matteoabdicatesmoralresponsibility
and
then
to
the
force.
His
is notso clear-cut
police
identity
military
eitheras he is associatedwithmadness(Giorgiacalls him "matto,
readspoetryand takespictures
wherehe atmatto,matteo/')
regularly
to
soul
of
his
his
failed
oralexam,
the
subject.During
tempts capture
whenaskedwhatcomestomindwithregardstoa poembySennuccio
niente. . . perch vuota"
del Bene,he responds"niente,veramente
ofCeccoAngiolieri,
as an
thenchoosing"II Beccaio,"a modestimitator
him.
struck
of
that
The
professor,
example religiouspoetry particularly
is incensedat hisreplyand asks:"unoehemalediceil padre
however,
e la madre,il semeda cui natole sembraun poetareligioso?"Like
Pasolini,Matteo struggleswith his parentage,and like many of
Pasolini's characters(Accatoneor the Englishvisitorin Teorema),
Matteois endowedwitha sense of the sacred.Similarto Accatone,
Matteois also redeemedthroughdeath,finallyfreefroma corrupt
worldthathe helpedperpetuate.10
in I centopassi,a film
are also foregrounded
Generational
struggles
thelifeofpassionateactivist
basedon a truestorychronicling
Peppino
withtiestoCosa Nostra.
borninCinisiin 1948intoa family
Impastato,
tiedto Badalamenti'sclan
His father
Luigiwas a smallbusiness-man
and hisuncleCesareManzellawas a mafiabosskilledin a clanwarin
1963.Allusionsto Pasoliniin I centopassiremindus that,similarto
Matteoin La megliogiovent,
Peppino'sviolentstruggleagainstthe
In an attempt
tocurbhisson's
mafiais also one againsthisownfather.
anti-mafia
beatshisson to
vocal
and
activities,
Luigi
Impastato
public
theground,dominateshimand pleadsthathe respectbothchurchand
Thissceneis framedtoapproximate
a
hisfather."
by "honoring
family
violentsexualattack:The pairis shotin extremeclose-upwithLuigi
and caressinghisson'shead.Peppino'ssubsequentrebellion
clutching
to themetaphorical
rape (hisattempted
parricide)makesclearhis remeanthereas sitting
fusalto "honorhisfather,"
byand allowingcycles
- an act
Afterstandingup to his father
ofmafiaviolenceto continue.
to a marginalspace
coloredby politicaloverturesPeppinoretreats
withhis mother.
wherehe engagesin a deeplyeroticizedencounter
FeliciaImpastatosurprisesherson whilehe is sleeping,directly
opposingherhusbandin orderto bringPeppinohisbooks.He immediatelyasksafterPasoliniand beginsreading"Le ceneridi Gramsci"in
the "voce grossa"thathe adopts when attackingthe mafia.When
he choosesto read "Supplicaa mia madre""pi piFeliciaprotests,
withPeppino'snearnaked
ano." The poem'ssubjectmattertogether
and
other
elements
body,
voyeuristic
includingdeep gazes and bodies
in themirror
reflected
reinforce
thescene'seroticnature.References
to
Pasolini'sOedipusRex(basedin part,as Pasolinihas said,on his own
thefilm,in particular
in how both
life)aboundhereand throughout
filmscomment
on theabusesofpower.It is interesting
thatPasolini's

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206

Dana Renga

mostwellknownpoliticalpoemis literally
pushedasidein favorofan
encounter
withhighlyoedipalovertones.
Thepair(first
Peppino,then
sixcoupletsofthepoem:
Felicia)recitesonlythefirst
difficile
direconparoledi figlio
ci a cui nelcuorebenpoco assomiglio.
Tu sei la sola al mondoehesa, del miocuore,
ci ehe statosempre,primad'ognialtroamore.
Perqustodevo dirtici ch'orrendoconoscere:
dentroIa tua graziaehenasceIa miaangoscia.
Perquesto dannata
Sei insostituibile.
la vitaehemihai data.
alia solitudine
fame
nonvoglioessersolo.Ho un'infinita
D'amore,dell'amoredi corpisenzaanima.
Perchl'anima in te,sei tu,ma tu
sei miamadree il tuoamore la miaschiavit:

tohismother'slove;he is
Peppino,likePasolinibeforehim,is prisoner
unableto liveoutsideofit.His enslavement,
however,precludeshim
thatof the "mammasantssima"or
anotherstructure,
fromentering
orbattleagainstboth
"Cosa nostra."As such,hispoliticalengagement,
father
and hismetaphorical
hisrealfather
Tano,is bornoutofhisdependenceuponhismother'slove.
and unpronounced,
The concluding,
coupletsofthepoemresonate
witha senseofpoliticalengagement:
ho passatoTinfanzia
schiavodi questosenso
di
alto,irrimediabile,un impegnoimmenso.
la vita
Eral'unicomodopersentire
L'unicatinta,Tunicaforma:ora finita.
ed la confusione
Sopravviviamo:
di una vitarinatafuoridalla ragione.
Ti supplico,ah,tisupplico:nonvolermorire.
Sonoqui,solo,conte,in un futuro
aprile. . . (2003:1102)

Similarto implicitallusionsto "II PCI ai giovani"in TheDreamers,

to a "futuroaprile"recallsthe failedresistance
Pasolini'sreference
linesofthepoemareladenwitha senseof
Theconcluding
movement.
and survival
is over,lifehas no meaning,
defeat;nowthatthestruggle
takesprecedenceto "impegno"or politicalcommitment.
Peppino's
murdered
own deathand subsequentmartyrdom
(he was eventually
men,beatento deathand thenblownup on therailbyBadalamenti's
here(in thatthepoetstatesthathe does
roadtracks)is foreshadowed
notwantto die,thathislifeis over,and so on). Furthermore,
Peppino
to Pasolini's:all bodies
similarities
(and Matteos')deathsbearstriking
theirdeathsare a way to resolve
are mutilated,
destroyed;
practically
of
theirnonconformity.
Regardless these parallels,referencesto
Pasoliniendowanotherheroto theItalianleftwitha senseofambigu-

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in New ItalianCinema
Martyrdom

207

in themirror
scene)
ityin thatthemesofthedividedself(thematized
ofheroesand martyrs
raiseseriousquestionsabouttheefficacy
in the
newmillenium.
intheirownway,calluponPasolini's
In theend,eachofthesefilms,
to
recall
a
of
memory
period hopefulnessin Italy,all the while acin such a struggle.Rather
the
inherent
knowledging manyfutilities
in theurbancenter,
thanengagingin themakingofhistory
characters
associatedwithPasolini,tovaryingdegrees,focusinward,on theperforexample,regression
sonalor theprimitive
intothe
(in manyfilms,
or
the
an
overt
commenpolitical
corporeal
psychological
supplants
tary.)Thesefilmscan all be read in lightof theconcludingversesof
- "potromaipi conpurapassioneoperare,/ se so
Leceneri
di Gramsci
ehela nostrastoria finita"(2003:826)- as, likein thepoem,thereexistsa tensionbetweena specifichistorical
moment;an idealizedyet
irretrievable
pastwherethe"lotta"actuallymeantsomething
(against
or againstterrorism,
forexample)and
themafia,forworker'srights,
a sentiment
thepresentcoloredbydefeatand politicalcorruption,
thematizedironically
by Michlein Carodirio:"voi gridavatecose orIo gridavocosegiustee ora
e voi sieteimbruttiti.
rendee violentissime
citationsto Pasolini
sono uno splendidoquarantenne!"Frequently,
themanynostalgiasin Italy's
thistension,and highlight
foreground
mytholoeized
past.
TheOhio StateUniversity
NOTES

1For
Filmand Televisionat UCLA hosted
example,TheSchoolofTheater,
the symposium'Tier Paolo Pasoliniand the City" on 5 November2005
whiletheCentreforResearchin theArts,SocialSciencesand Humanitiesat
of Cambridgeorganizedthetwo day conference
"La nuova
theUniversity
of
Pier
Paolo
Pasolini
30
The
Intellectual
Years
On"
Legacy
gioventu?
(4-5 November2005.)Eightpanelswerededicatedto Pasoliniat theannual
meetingof theAmericanAssociationforItalianStudiesand The American
AssociationofTeachersof Italianin Genoa,Italy(25-28May 2006)and two
in Romefocusedon thedirector
exhibits
("Pasolinie noi" 16 Dicembre20052005-29Gennaio2006.)
12Febbraio2006and "Pasolinie Roma"21 Ottobre
2In "Is Pasolinian UrbanFilm-maker?"
Konstantarakos
Myrto
arguesthat
i.e.
the
of
Rome
or
"derelict"
various
cities
spaces,
periphery
depicting
through
ofthethirdworld,Pasoliniopposescapitalismand carvesoutliminalspaces
likehimself.
forthoseoutcastfromsociety,
"a
3In "II 'cinemadi
...
poesia7 "<linguadelia poesia cinematografica>
.
.
.
la
di
fare
scritti
con
la
implicadunque possibilita
deglipseudo-racconti,
la
di
una
delia
di
poesia: possibilitainsomma,
prosad'arte, una serie
lingua
assicuratadall'uso pretestuale
di pagineliriche,la cui soggettivit
dlia
e il cuiveroprotagonista
lo stile"("II 'cinemadi
liberaindiretta>:
<soggettiva
"
e sull'arte:1485).
poesia' Saggisullaletteratura

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208

Dana Renga

4In the
as
Cinema
chapter'The ManyFacesofEros"fromPierPaoloPasolini:
in
intersections
inherent
the
Greene
Naomi
explores "dangerspots"
Heresy
betweenthepersonaland thepoliticalin Pasolini's opus.
fromrecentpopular
5MatteoGarrone'sGomorra
(2008)marksa departure
Italianfilmtrendsin itsrelianceuponnon-professional
actors,use ofregional
likestyle
with
a
dialectand on locationshooting
documentary
jarring
together
moralistic.
nor
whichis neither
voyeuristic
6In "Beforethe Revolution:BernardoBertolucci'
Maxis TheDreamers/'
filmsuggestposmilianLe CainproposesthatthenakedbodiesinBertolucd's
cel"TheunabashedpleasurewithwhichBertolucci
andself-discovery:
sibility
the
most
is
freedom
sexual
bodies
ebratesthesepre-Sal
discovering
pre-AIDS
elementofthefilm."
jarring
quixotically
7See A. Zubatovand Yaniv
and
TheDreamers
Eyny"AbovetheRevolution:
in
The
mise-en-abimes
Alienation"fora thoroughdiscussionof the many
Dreamers.

8In an interview
thattheeventsof
comments
withHarryHaun,Bertolucci
life
"Itwas a different
relations:
shiftin interpersonal
'68 markeda significant
numberof authoritarian
an incredible
before'68. You could see everywhere
After
'68,theydisappeared"(16).
figures.
9In "Whois
KillingPasolini?TwoBooksandTwoFilmsShowHow toKeep
to look at two
Him Alive,"MaurizioVianosuggeststhatit maybe fruitful
- Pasolini:un delittoitalianoand Nerolio(Aurlio
filmsthataddressPasolini
Grimaldi,1996)- throughthelensesof queer theoryand addictionstudies.
Also, in "The LeftAccordingto the Ashes of Gramsci"Viano positsthat
on Pasoliniin orderto explorethefailureof
in reflecting
Giordana'sinterest
of1980.
viamer
Maladetti
of'68 beganwithhisfirst
thegeneration
film,
10In "Deathand Narrative:
Ermelinda
an Itinerary"
Campanidiscussesthe
centralrolethatdeathplaysin manyof Pasolini's films:"Mostofthemend
showOedipalor non-Oedipalassassiwiththedeathoftheirmaincharacter,
of a
or physicalmutilation
nations,or involvesome kindof psychological
whichis and ofitselfa typeofdeath"(34.)Thethanatosmotiflelds
character
itselfwell to a readingof a selectionofGiordana'sfilms,and hereI include
Pasolini:un delitto
italiano,
as, in many,centralcharacters
(Peppino,Matteo,
Pasolini)die quitebrutally.
WORKS CITED
Ermelinda.
"Death
and Narrative:an Itinerary".
Blimp34 (1999):
Campani,
33-36.
Princeton
UniPrinceton:
Green,Naomi.PierPaoloPasolini:Cinemaas Heresy.
1990.
Press,
versity
'60s forTeen
Returnsto Paris and the Turbulent
Haun, Harry."Bertolucci
'. FilmJournal
International
March (2004): 16-17.
Mnage trois"

Konstantarakos,
SpacesinEuropean
Myrto."Is Pasolinian UrbanFilm-maker?"
2000.112-123.
Cinema.
Ed. MyrtoKonstantarakos.
Exeter:Intellect,

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inNew ItalianCinema
Martyrdom

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Le Cain, Maximilian."Beforethe Revolution:BernardoBertolucci'sThe

Dreamers".SensesofCinemaMay 2004. 9 January2007

.
cinema.com/contents
/04/32/the_dreamers.html>
<http://sensesof
Marcus,Millicent."Carodirioand the CinematicBody of Nanni Moretti".
Age. Baltimoreand London:
AfterFellini:NationalCinemain thePostmodern

TheJohnsHopkinsUniversity
Press,2002.285-299.
Pasolini,Pier Paolo. Saggi sulla polticaa sulla societ.Milano: Arnoldo
MondadoriEditore,1999.
. Saggisullaletteratura
e sull'arte.
2 vols. Milano:ArnoldoMondadori
1999.
Editore,
. lutteleposie.2 vols.Milano:ArnoldoMondadoriEditore,
2003.
to
the
of
'The
Left
Ashes
Gramsci".
SocialText
Maurizio.
Viano,
According
51-60.
18 (1987-1988):
. "Whois KillingPasolini?Two Booksand Two FilmsShow How to
51:4(1998):21-27.
KeepHimAlive".FilmQuarterly
A.
Yaniv
"Above
the Revolution:The Dreamersand
and
Zubatov,
Eyny.
Alienation".BrightLightsFilmJournal
August 2004. 10 January2007
<http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/45/dreamers.htm>.

This content downloaded from 200.130.19.153 on Mon, 16 Nov 2015 14:15:54 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions