The Decameron (1971)

Original title

Il Decameron

Directed by

Pier Paolo Pasolini

Genre

drama film, comedy film, medieval film

Country

Germany, France, Italy

Runtime

1h 52m

Rated

R

Rating

6.8 of 10 from 358 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Pier Paolo Pasolini adapts several stories from Boccaccio's Decameron, relocating them to southern Italy. The film follows a series of characters through comedic and erotic adventures, mixing slapstick with social commentary about class and exploitation.

earthyplayfulribaldirreverentlyricalvisually lushsatiricalbawdyslow-burn

What happens

The Decameron (Italian: Il Decameron) is a 1971 anthology erotic comedy film written and directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, based on the 14th-century collection of stories by Giovanni Boccaccio. It is the first film of Pasolini's Trilogy of Life, the others being The Canterbury Tales and Arabian Nights. Each film was an adaptation of a different piece of classical literature focusing on ribald and often irreligious themes. The tales contain abundant nudity, sex, slapstick and scatological humour. Pasolini's intention was not to faithfully recreate the world of Boccaccio's characters but to criticise the contemporary world through metaphorical use of the themes present in the stories. Stories are often changed to southern Italy and heavy use of the Neapolitan dialect is used to signify the mistreatment and economic exploitation of the poorer region by the richer northern parts of Italy. The film was entered into the 21st Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear Extraordinary Jury Prize. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Love Meetings (1964)
• Dekameron 40 czyli cudowne przytrafienie pewnego nieboszczyka (1971)
• The Ribald Decameron (1972)
• Le mura di Sana (1971)
• The Last Decameron: Adultery in 7 Easy Lessons (1972)
• The Working Class Goes to Heaven (1971)
• Paolo e Francesca (1971)
• Decameron 4 (1972)