The Grim Reaper (1962)

Synopsis: Twenty-one-year-old Bernardo Bertolucci took a page from the book of mentor and neorealist Pier Paolo Pasolini to direct his first feature, THE GRIM REAPER. Pasolini wrote the story of a murdered... Twenty-one-year-old Bernardo Bertolucci took a page from the book of mentor and neorealist Pier Paolo Pasolini to direct his first feature, THE GRIM REAPER. Pasolini wrote the story of a murdered prostitute and the subsequent police interrogation of everyone who was at the park where the murder occurred. Of course, nobody saw a thing, but as each person tells their story, the real events unfold onscreen...showing that practically everyone's a criminal. Bustelli (Alfredo Leggi), for example, might not have killed anyone, but he was plying his pimp's trade with his wife and business partner, Esperia. The five vignettes presented are full of comedy, visual poetry, and the evocation of a strange, stark nightlife. Bertolucci manages to show Rome's seedier side without drifitng into broad social commentary; at the same time he reaches the RASHOMON-like realization that the truth is more subjective than one might think. [More]

Starring: Francesco Rulu

Starring: Francesco Rulu

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci

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