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drums, the cumparsita, popular songs such as Come nasce un amore, Addio Addio and the
fragment of the Fascist song Faccetta Nera,(4) exemplifies the conceptual differences
between the two films. These centre on the directors' attitudes towards the characters, whose
social marginalization and lack of self-awareness are explored with differing forms of
directorial engagement. In this regard, Adams Sitney observes that Pasolini's fascination for
filmic elaborations of the via crucis led him to adapt the genre of spiritual biography. He
attempted to fuse it with the 'ethos of the criminal sub-proletariat' of the 1960s, managing
this by placing 'more emphasis on the moment of death than on the concept of sin.' (Adams
Sitney, 1994: 171-173). Hence, Pasolini tended to justify a character's criminal actions from
a film's outset, and to elicit a sense of pity towards the hopeless destiny of his protagonists.
By contrast, Bertolucci's portrayals of the marginalized have no sense of the sacred, and are
based on a secular desire to awaken within viewers an awareness of Italy's social situation.
One sequence typifies this position, the scene following Francolicchio's drowning. It might
be expected that this dramatic episode would close with a close-up of Pipito's bewildered
face to create strong emotional empathy with the youngster, but instead the take continues
with a full-length shot of his silent, motionless figure followed by a backward tracking shot
and a diagonal pan that extend the visual field
to take in the background where several
recently constructed apartment blocks are
visible (see image). Bertolucci's 2003
interview for a DVD extra to The Grim Reaper
explains the use of camera movement in the
film.
I had a very clear idea of how to shoot the film. [For Accattone] Pier Paolo had made great use of
close-ups and frontal framing, following the pattern of Tuscan paintings on religious themes. Well, my
cinema would be in full movement, all the time [...] The camera moved continuously [...] also in
reaction to the immobility of what should have been the blueprint. (Bertolucci, 2003)
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