To Bathe in Filmic Waters

Mamma Roma | Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1962

It is difficult to surmise the career of Bologna-born Pier Paolo Pasolini using words only, and it is only too easy to understate his worth to Italian cinema in general. A journalist, poet, philosopher, playwright, linguist, painter, actor, director and political figure, Pasolini came to international fame perhaps later than he should have. For it was through script-writing for the likes of Federico Fellini that this cultured and often controversial character found his way to the industry of film. Pasolini’s debut directorial effort, Accattone, raised a few eyebrows and turned heads in his direction, paving the way for Mamma Roma a year later. Arriving in Rome from a secluded, countryside upbringing, it’s easy to see why Pasolini was so fascinated by the city and its inhabitants. While other Italian filmmakers were commenting on the influx of western culture in the sixties, Pasolini seemed content to focus upon specific parts of the Italian society. Particularly the industrial working classes or his so-called “Subproletariat” walk of life, as can be evidently seen in his literature and early films. For Mamma Roma, Pasolini’s central focus falls upon a struggling middle-aged prostitute nicknamed Mamma Roma (played by Anna Magnani) and her estranged lout of a son Ettore. After pushing her son away for years, this driven woman now seeks a new life involving a steady job for herself and potential career for her son. Unfortunately she is unable to right the wrongs already done; unable to escape the vices of life and unable to alter the path of a son bound for jail, hospital or worse. Pasolini’s obsession with “real” life and the sub-working classes has been strongly compared to the Neorealist movement in Italian cinema that ended at the beginning of the fifties. There are important differences, however, between definitive Neorealism and Pasolini’s philosophy, stemming from his use of actors. Most Neorealist filmmakers chose non-professional or beginner actors to help capture realism whereas Pasolini used them precisely to avoid this; instead he looked to capture the feeling generated by true theatrical performances through this inexperience. Any acting mistakes; he kept rolling. A philosophy that can be no doubt attributed to his own experience, stage side.

For me, Mamma Roma is just as much Pasolini channeling his own vision of society as it is him reflecting upon the vision of others. Here there is a great deal of influence from the Neorealist films that Pasolini must have no doubt been exposed to in his twenties. The film itself is dedicated to Roberto Rossellini, and many comparisons can be drawn between Mamma Roma and Rossellini’s Roma, Città Aperta (Rome, Open City). I’ve written at length about the undeniable importance but also often contrived nature of Rossellini’s approach with Open City; the clear, often comical differences between good and evil, with the latter of course taking the form of Nazism and German oppression. In Rome, Open City the good characters are virtuous beings, surviving in a corrupt society no thanks to some wicked external influences. With Mamma Roma, Pasolini ensures that we see how Italian society today has corrupted itself. Pimps, pushers and prostitutes; all direct opposites of the priests and innocent children to be found in Roma, Città Aperta. The final scenes of each film also tell us a tale. With Mamma Roma, rather than a band of chirping children traipsing towards St. Peter’s Dome, we see our central character attempting to commit suicide. Her gaze is caught by the domed roof of a nearby church, and thus Pasolini drives home his allusion. Such religious influence is clearly apparent in Mamma Roma, and perhaps most strongly in its imagery. During the opening wedding sequence – seen in the image above – Pasolini controversially and quite obviously puts his own ironic spin on Leonardo Da Vinci’s iconic fifteenth century painting ‘The Last Supper’. It’s scenes such as these that explain exactly why Pasolini came to hold such a controversial position and why many believe, even today, that the man was against organised religion. Other evidence points to the contrary, of course, though at least we have been left deeply layered and humble works like Mamma Roma to which we can look for hints of this great philosopher’s philosophies.

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