Il Decameron (The Decameron)

• Year: 1971
• Country: Italy
• Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
• Starring: Franco Citti, Ninetto Davoli, Jovan Jovanovic

Pasolini’s comedic middle finger to religion and thumbs up to freedom and sexuality was adapted from Boccaccio’s novel of the same name, and consists of nine stories all taking place in the middle ages, dealing with the aforementioned topics. It’s light, and I had trouble believing I was watching Pasolini: this movie made me realize that I watched Salò when I was way too young and put off the rest of Pasolini’s work as a result. The first film in Pasolini’s Trilogy of Life, stay tuned for reviews of The Canterbury Tales and Arabian Nights within the next few weeks. This was a fun movie, but I’m not sure it would have had the same impact were it not for Pasolini’s own legacy and tragic story.