aka "Pigsty"
Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
Italy, 1969

Synopsis

An interweaving of two separate (and yet related?!?) stories.

In one, a young man mysteriously refuses the romantic advances of his activist girlfriend. We find out why when his father, a former-Nazi turned businessman, is visited by his equally slimy business rival, who threatens to disclose his son's horrible secret--the young man seems to have a fondness for pigs, of all things--unless the father agrees to a merger of the two companies.

In the second narrative, we follow the exploits of a strange wild man who, unable to find any source of available food, cheerfully resorts to cannibalism. Over time, he recruits others in his sick habits. The villagers eventually capture him and his followers by luring them with some nude young men.

Before his execution, the cannibal leader recites his only line in the film, "I killed my father, I ate human flesh and I quiver with joy." The young man, in turn, is torn apart and devoured by the pigs that he "loved".

What I think about it

This film is disturbing, and not even in a good way. The cannibalism scenes, particularly, are gruesomely sensual and intense. There is meant to be some crossover to the sick image of the bourgoise family, which is almost self-cannibalistic. The most redemptive aspect of this film, perhaps, is the stunning cinematography, particularly in the cannibal scenes, which take place in a bleak landscape of volcanic rock-covered hills. The colors, especially in contrast to the blackness of the landscape, are loud and vivid.

Il Porcile is thematically similar to many of Pasolini's other films, particularly Teorema, addressing issues of the bourgouise, uncontrolled (or unhealthy) sexuality, and our own inner savage nature.

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