Teorema, 1968, 105 minutes.
Francis Bacon, who died in 1992, also lived a long time. Perhaps that is not working in favor of these two. Bacon’s paintings were the partial subject of a Pasolini picture I finally got to see last night.
Like all Pasolini movies it is partially about Jesus. It features a young and super-handsome Terence Stamp. Finally released on DVD in 2005, it is a strange movie, in that the script is damn-near perfect, the visuals are appealing, disturbing and wonderful, and yet it’s really not that great a movie, especially for Pasolini.
The story is basically this: Terence Stamp is Jesus, and kinda like Poison Ivy he goes into an upper class home, fucks everyone including the mother and father and maid, and then abandons them after he’s shown them the meaning of life.
A lot of critics think this film is about Pasolini’s repressed sexuality. They are probably right, though they have said that about all of his films.
Six years before he was murdered, Pasolini did the following interview:
“But as for sexual intercourse, well, I haven’t had the occasion to use that yet. The sexual theme in ‘Teorema’ is only metaphorical. That’s why the sex scenes between the visitor and the members of the family are not explicit. The love that is offered is spiritual. The mother and father have the illusion that it is physical and that they can replace it by having sexual relationships with pick-ups, boys who resemble the visitor physically. These relations are shown realistically because there is nothing else to show. Nothing mystical takes place with them. The mother and father, because of their middle-class, industrial values, have not been able to learn from a truly religious experience. The father almost does. He takes off his clothes and, like Saint Francis, leaves all material things behind. When he reaches the desert, which represents the ascetic life he has been trying to gain, he is not capable of living a mystical experience, as Saint Francis was, because he is historically made in another manner. He arrives almost to the limit of being saved, but he doesn’t make it. It’s very important that the middle-class sees its own errors and suffers for them.”
We assumed Pasolini equalled sex (care bear sex is NSFW whatsoever) and that was wrong. Next time I’m just going to rent Salo.
As I said, I’m way more interested in these Bacon paintings. One of the characters in Teorema is a ginger painter, and he idolizes Francis Bacon. He does this amazing monologue about painting. You can see why he idolizes Bacon. His paintings are just extraordinary.
My brother was playing this song in the car when he picked me up from the train station last week.
Me: Who sings this?
Danny: You don’t know this song?
Me: Nope.
Danny: Are you serious?
Me: Are you going to tell me, or not?
Danny: You say you know everything.
Me: Fine, I’ll google it you moron.
Danny: So you don’t know everything?
According to my brother, Stadium Arcadium is the greatest album of the decade. And you wonder why I take my anger out on others.
“Snow (Hey Oh)” — Red Hot Chili Peppers
Interesting post about Jesse Harris.
This is a big barbecue we’re talking about after all.
Simmons on the NBA Finals. Trust me, my Lebron post is coming.
Go Bubbles! If you haven’t seen the Canadian show Trailer Park Boys in its entirety, you totally missed out.
I think we’re all waiting for Curt to blog his near-no hitter. Poor Curt. If he had just believed in Jesus a little more…
For all your weekend song needs.
This Recording 
Just wish to say your article is as surprising. The clarity in your post is just excellent and i could assume you’re an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your feed to keep updated with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please keep up the rewarding work.