Screening 2 - The Gospel According to Matthew by P.P.Pasolini

Pasolini was drawn to Matthew's version of the Gospel because he found it "rigorous, demanding and absolute," and he would film it accordingly. Reconstructing events from the Annunciation to the Resurrection with none of the familiar sentimentality and spectacle of Hollywood's biblical epics, Pasolini employs the techniques of cinéma vérité (hand-held cameras, the zoom lens, an unadorned, austere, monochrome visual style) to create a remarkable sense of documentary-like immediacy. The realism is heightened by the southern Italian locations and an expressive, impressive cast of non-professionals, including Pasolini's own mother as the adult Virgin, and Spanish student Enrique Irazoqui (cast after Pasolini abandoned his plans to use the too-old Jack Kerouac) in a forceful, dominating performance as an intense, determined Christ. An eclectic musical score, ranging from Bach to Billie Holiday, is also used to great effect. Pasolini manages surprising fidelity to his source material even as he explores the relationship between politics and myth. The result is an astonishingly personal, vital and dynamic work.

Dedicated site, various resources:
http://www.pasolini.org/



Biographical, list of films and other texts: http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/02/pasolini.html


Pasolini's texts, paintings and other material: http://www.karaartservers.ch/p.p.pasolini/pasolini.html


Dedicated Italian site: http://www.pasolini.net/