Teorema

Silvana Mangano, prototype of the Italian sexpot for her appearance in 1948’s Bitter Rice, matured into a first-rate dramatic actress and became a fixture in the films of Visconti and Pasolini. She heads the superb cast of Teorema, one of Pasolini’s signature achievements and a key work of subversive ’60s cinema. Likened to an adult version of E.T., Teorema features Terrence Stamp as "The Visitor," a mysterious, divine-like figure who insinuates himself into a wealthy Milanese family and proceeds to seduce every member of the household: mother (Mangano), father, daughter, son, and servant. Pasolini’s “theorem,” in the form of a mythical allegory, has the bourgeois family — and, by extension, modern, industrial, consumerist society — self-destructing under the subversive influence of sexuality, the one threat to its existence it has not yet brought under control. Only the family maid, a member of Pasolini’s favoured sub-proletariat, is not left devastated; Laura Betti was named Best Actress at Venice for her performance in that role. Pasolini faced obscenity charges over the film but was acquitted. "His most perfect fusion of Marxism and religion...a film that is both political allegory and mystical fable" (Time Out).  "Very close in mood to Buñuel" (David Thomson). Colour and B&W, 35mm, in Italian with English subtitles. 98 mins.