Isn't this the one we've all been expecting?
Based on the book by Marquis de Sade, Salo is a 1975 film about 4 Libertines in Nazi-Fascist Italy between 1943 and 1944, who round up 9 boys and 9 girls, and subject them to 120 days of sadistic torture, and stories from Signoras about prostitution and, yep, you guessed it, sadistic torture. The book is not based around that time, or in Italy, but as far as content matter, it follows the book fairly closely.
My first viewing of this left me incredibly underwhelmed, and I was expecting more of the same again, but sometimes a second viewing does change your opinion. I do have to admit when I'm wrong, and maybe it was down to immaturity with my first viewing, or maybe reading the book helped, because this time, I found it far more profound.
To start, as always, the look and sound of this film might actually be it's biggest let down. It looks old. It is old, but it looks it. There are a few things that make it obvious it's over 40 years old, but nothing really shows it better than the dubbing. I'm not sure why it was dubbed over in Italian (the original language anyway), but the sound quality really differs. In one scene a Signora is telling her story, but underneath you can hear her humming in the original audio, then she speaks with the dubbed audio. I'm sure Pasolini was trying to make a point with it, as he doesn't seem like a director to do something for the sake of nothing, but I have no idea what the point was. The entire film has a very washed out look about it, and it feels depressing from the start.
Acting wise, it's not bad, with some great performances from the children. On a little tangent about the children, I did a little research, and most of them didn't act in anything after this, I also cannot confirm pretty much any of their ages, so they may be (or probably were) under the age of 18 at the time of filming (just a warning, because they spend a majority of the film in not much clothing). The Libertines are all spot on with the book's descriptions, which was nice to see. Their performances were all strong for the most part. The performances of the Signoras are probably the strongest in the film, they somehow manage to keep the audience captivated as they retell stories of their lives without the help of any on screen visuals about their descriptions.
The pacing of Salo is fantastic. It's a bit of a slow burner, but it's never boring. I never had the urge to look at my phone (except to take notes). The way the film builds up to it's finale is masterful, you're never fooled into thinking that any of the main characters are nice, but you don't see the true levels of depravity until the end, with an ever growing sadism.
The social commentary in this film is so blatantly obvious, I'm not sure why Australia needed any extra content to explain the film before they gave it a rating in the 21st Century... Pasolini was aiming for depressing and nihilistic, and congratulations, because that sums up this film so well. My personal interpretation of the film is a damning representation of the way the elitist upper class treat their supposed subjects. I think a lot can be said about it taking place during World War 2, far too often, countries can celebrate violence. The violence in this film is supposed to make you ashamed, angry, and disgusted. I think Pasolini was trying to show that we, as modern society, romanticise violence far too much, and almost forget what real violence looks and feels like. Of course, Pasolini isn't around to ask what the film means, as he was murdered just before the film's release.
So, quickly, the special effects. Well, most of the brutality is shown right at the end of the film. The effects are okay, you can definitely see the age of Salo with the effects. The rubber tongue, the scalp that is already coming off before the knife goes anywhere near it. The eyeball still holds up, but it is from quite a distance through a pair of binoculars. I must mention that the third chapter does include people eating faeces, but if you know it's chocolate, it ain't so bad. Don't eat your dinner whilst watching this film.
Based on the book by Marquis de Sade, Salo is a 1975 film about 4 Libertines in Nazi-Fascist Italy between 1943 and 1944, who round up 9 boys and 9 girls, and subject them to 120 days of sadistic torture, and stories from Signoras about prostitution and, yep, you guessed it, sadistic torture. The book is not based around that time, or in Italy, but as far as content matter, it follows the book fairly closely.
My first viewing of this left me incredibly underwhelmed, and I was expecting more of the same again, but sometimes a second viewing does change your opinion. I do have to admit when I'm wrong, and maybe it was down to immaturity with my first viewing, or maybe reading the book helped, because this time, I found it far more profound.
To start, as always, the look and sound of this film might actually be it's biggest let down. It looks old. It is old, but it looks it. There are a few things that make it obvious it's over 40 years old, but nothing really shows it better than the dubbing. I'm not sure why it was dubbed over in Italian (the original language anyway), but the sound quality really differs. In one scene a Signora is telling her story, but underneath you can hear her humming in the original audio, then she speaks with the dubbed audio. I'm sure Pasolini was trying to make a point with it, as he doesn't seem like a director to do something for the sake of nothing, but I have no idea what the point was. The entire film has a very washed out look about it, and it feels depressing from the start.
Acting wise, it's not bad, with some great performances from the children. On a little tangent about the children, I did a little research, and most of them didn't act in anything after this, I also cannot confirm pretty much any of their ages, so they may be (or probably were) under the age of 18 at the time of filming (just a warning, because they spend a majority of the film in not much clothing). The Libertines are all spot on with the book's descriptions, which was nice to see. Their performances were all strong for the most part. The performances of the Signoras are probably the strongest in the film, they somehow manage to keep the audience captivated as they retell stories of their lives without the help of any on screen visuals about their descriptions.
The pacing of Salo is fantastic. It's a bit of a slow burner, but it's never boring. I never had the urge to look at my phone (except to take notes). The way the film builds up to it's finale is masterful, you're never fooled into thinking that any of the main characters are nice, but you don't see the true levels of depravity until the end, with an ever growing sadism.
The social commentary in this film is so blatantly obvious, I'm not sure why Australia needed any extra content to explain the film before they gave it a rating in the 21st Century... Pasolini was aiming for depressing and nihilistic, and congratulations, because that sums up this film so well. My personal interpretation of the film is a damning representation of the way the elitist upper class treat their supposed subjects. I think a lot can be said about it taking place during World War 2, far too often, countries can celebrate violence. The violence in this film is supposed to make you ashamed, angry, and disgusted. I think Pasolini was trying to show that we, as modern society, romanticise violence far too much, and almost forget what real violence looks and feels like. Of course, Pasolini isn't around to ask what the film means, as he was murdered just before the film's release.
So, quickly, the special effects. Well, most of the brutality is shown right at the end of the film. The effects are okay, you can definitely see the age of Salo with the effects. The rubber tongue, the scalp that is already coming off before the knife goes anywhere near it. The eyeball still holds up, but it is from quite a distance through a pair of binoculars. I must mention that the third chapter does include people eating faeces, but if you know it's chocolate, it ain't so bad. Don't eat your dinner whilst watching this film.
And finally, can I recommend it? Not really, Salo is such a brutal film with such a big meaning, you can't sit and watch this casually, it's not relaxing viewing, even if I think it is a film people should see, I know a lot of people won't enjoy it. I didn't enjoy it, it just had a bigger impact on me. The problems with the actors ages is also something that would make it hard for me to recommend. But if you think you can deal with eating faeces, graphic torture, rape, and bad dubbing, I have to say it will make you think twice.
8/10
8/10
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