''Accattone'' is a 1961 Italian
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
written and directed by
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...
. Despite an original screenplay, the film is often perceived as a cinematic rendition of Pasolini's earlier novels, particularly ''
Ragazzi di vita'' (''The Ragazzi'', 1955) and ''Una vita violenta'' (''A Violent Life'', 1959). Pasolini's
first film as a director, ''Accattone'' uses what would later be seen as his trademark characteristics; a cast of non-professional actors hailing from the film's setting, and thematic emphasis on impoverished individuals.
While many were surprised by his shift from literature to film, Pasolini had considered attending the
Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia
The Centro sperimentale di cinematografia (Experimental Film Centre or Italian National film school) was established in 1935 in Italy and aims to promote the art and technique of cinematography and film.
The centre is the oldest film school in ...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
prior to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He had additionally collaborated with
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...
on ''
Le notti di Cabiria'' (1957) and considered cinema to be writing with reality. The word ''accattone'' is an informal term meaning "
vagabond
Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...
" or "
scrounger".
''Accattone'' is a story of pimps, prostitutes and thieves, types also represented in Pasolini's novels. The life of the employed (and unemployed) impoverished is depicted, a contrast to Italy's postwar economic reforms. Pasolini's topical choice was scandalous at the time, as was his blurring of the lines between the sacred and the profane. Although Pasolini attempted to distance himself from
neorealism, the film is often considered a kind of second-generation neorealism, with one critic believing it "may be the grimmest movie" he'd ever seen.
Plot
Vittorio (
Franco Citti
Franco Citti (; 23 April 1935 – 14 January 2016) was an Italian actor, best known as one of the close collaborators of director Pier Paolo Pasolini. He came to fame for playing the title role in Pasolini's film ''Accattone'', which brought hi ...
), nicknamed "Accattone" (meaning 'beggar' in Italian), leads a mostly serene life as a pimp until his prostitute, Maddalena, is hurt by his rivals and sent to prison. Finding himself without either a steady income or much inclination for working himself, he first tries to reconcile with the estranged mother of his child, but is driven away by her relatives; he then encounters the (apparently) naive Stella and tries to lure her into prostituting herself for him. She is willing to try, but when her first client begins pawing her she cries and gets out of the car. Accattone tries to support her, but gives up on honest labor after one day, and following a bizarre vision of his own death, he goes stealing with a couple of friends and gets killed in a traffic accident when he tries to evade the police on a stolen motorcycle.
Cast
*
Franco Citti
Franco Citti (; 23 April 1935 – 14 January 2016) was an Italian actor, best known as one of the close collaborators of director Pier Paolo Pasolini. He came to fame for playing the title role in Pasolini's film ''Accattone'', which brought hi ...
as Vittorio "Accattone" Cataldi
* as Stella
* as Maddalena
*Paola Guidi as Ascenza
*
Adriana Asti
Adriana Asti (born 30 April 1931) is an Italian stage, film, and voice actress.
Biography
On stage, she starred in ''Saint Joan'' by George Bernard Shaw, ''Happy Days'' by Samuel Beckett, ''The Mistress of the Inn'' by Carlo Goldoni, and ''Three ...
as Amore
*Luciano Conti as Il Moicano
*Luciano Gonini as Piede D'Oro
*Renato Capogna as Renato
*Alfredo Leggi as Papo Hirmedo
*Galeazzo Riccardi as Cipolla
*Leonardo Muraglia as Mammoletto
*Giuseppe Ristagno as Peppe
*Roberto Giovannoni as The German
* as Balilla
*Roberto Scaringella as Cartagine
*Silvio Citti as Sabino
*
Monica Vitti
Monica Vitti (born Maria Luisa Ceciarelli; 3 November 1931 – 2 February 2022) was an Italian actress who starred in several award-winning films directed by Michelangelo Antonioni during the 1960s. After working with Antonioni, Vitti changed f ...
(uncredited) as Ascenza (voice)
Awards
Franco Citti was nominated for the
BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor in 1963 for his title role.
References
External links
*
*
*
Senses of Cinema essay on ''Accattone''
{{Authority control
1961 films
Films directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
1961 drama films
Italian black-and-white films
1960s Italian-language films
Films set in Rome
1961 directorial debut films
Italian drama films
1960s Italian films