Accattone is a 1961 Italian drama film written and directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. Despite an original screenplay, the film is often perceived as a cinematic rendition of Pasolini's earlier novels, particularly Ragazzi di vita (The Ragazzi, 1955) and Una vita violenta (A Violent Life, 1959).[1] Pasolini's first film as a director, Accattone uses what would later be seen as his trademark characteristics; a cast of non-professional actors hailing from the film's setting, and thematic emphasis on impoverished individuals.
Accattone | |
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Directed by | Pier Paolo Pasolini |
Written by | Pier Paolo Pasolini |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Tonino Delli Colli |
Edited by | Nino Baragli |
Music by | Johann Sebastian Bach |
Production company | Arco Film |
Distributed by | Titanus |
Release dates |
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Running time | 117 minutes |
Country | Italy |
Language | Italian |
While many were surprised by his shift from literature to film, Pasolini had considered attending the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome prior to World War II. He had additionally collaborated with Federico Fellini on Le notti di Cabiria (1957) and considered cinema to be writing with reality. The word accattone [akkatˈto:ne] is an informal term meaning "vagabond" or "scrounger".[2][3]
Accattone is a story of pimps, prostitutes and thieves, types also represented in Pasolini's novels. The life of the employed (and unemployed) impoverished is depicted, a contrast to Italy's postwar economic reforms. Pasolini's topical choice was scandalous at the time, as was his blurring of the lines between the sacred and the profane. Although Pasolini attempted to distance himself from neorealism, the film is often considered a kind of second-generation neorealism, with one critic believing it "may be the grimmest movie" he'd ever seen.[4]
Vittorio (Franco Citti), nicknamed "Accattone" (meaning 'beggar' in Italian), leads a mostly serene life as a pimp until his prostitute, Maddalena, is hurt by his rivals and sent to prison. Finding himself without either a steady income or much inclination for working himself, he first tries to reconcile with the estranged mother of his child, but is driven away by her relatives; he then encounters the (apparently) naive Stella and tries to lure her into prostituting herself for him. She is willing to try, but when her first client begins pawing her she cries and gets out of the car. Accattone tries to support her, but gives up on honest labor after one day, and following a bizarre vision of his own death, he goes stealing with a couple of friends and gets killed in a traffic accident when he tries to evade the police on a stolen motorcycle.
Franco Citti was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor in 1963 for his title role.[5]
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