- “Pasolini goes beyond simple shock to create an effect of truly poetic intensity”
Geoffrey Nowell-Smith
A handsome, enigmatic stranger (Terence Stamp) arrives at a bourgeouis household in Milan and seduces each family member, including the maid. Is this stranger a demon or heaven sent? He departs as abruptly as he arrived and the members of the household are forever altered in his wake. One becomes a Saint; for the others the family buisness and a vocation are abandoned. Someone goes into a catatonic state and another abandons themselves to random sexual behaviour.
An exploration of the social taboos that bind us, this is the cult-classic film Theorem (Teorema) from Italian film director Pier Paolo Pasolini. Born in Bologna in 1922 Pasolini was poet, intellectual, film director, and writer. He demonstrated a unique and extraordinary cultural versatility, in the process becoming a highly controversial figure including, and beyond, his tragic murder. His life was one of extremes; imprisoned for two months on blasphemy charges for an episode in the film RoGoPaG, and receiving the international Catholic Film Prize two years later for his Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo (Gospel According to St Matthew). After winning a prize at Venice Festival Theorem was banned on an obscenity charge, later to win an acquital on the film's `high artistic value'.
Theorem is a visually stunning film, with an excellent cast and soundtrack. Pasolini was a proflific artist, with 25 critically acclaimed films.
The screening of Theorem is to celebrate T.E.O.R.E.M.A.T. from multi-award winning Polish director Grzegorz Jarzyna, which features in the 2010 Festival programme. This near wordless theatre production is inspired by Theorem and is an exquisite filmic voyage into the heart of Pier Paolo Pasolini's modern parable.
By kind permission of Mondo TV
Italian with English subtitles
Rating M - Suitable for Mature Audiences 16 Years and over
