Porcile
(Pigpen/ Pigsty) directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini / 1969
Italy
The opening sequence with Pierre Clémenti (what cheekbones!), makes you watch with a strange fascination. The man appears to be somewhat crazy as he’s stumbling around a barren landscape and turns to cannibalism for survival. His eventual capture culminates in a memorable line that is paired with any mention of this film, anywhere, so I’ll refrain from getting caught in regurgitation. After this we meet Herr Klotz and his son Julian (played by Jean-Pierre Leaud) in another story that is set in Germany. Julian is surrounded by his father’s industrialist /capitalist world and is tired of human relations, so he spends his time with the pigs that will lead to his demise. The version that I got my hands on had Jean-Pierre overdubbed and just as in Trauffaut’s English version of Day for Night, made concentrating difficult. Beyond that it was what you can expect and love from a Pasolini film: harsh, satirical events that expound on the propensity of human disintegration and rebellion against social structures.
VALERIE