Pasolini's last and most infamous film; frequently and deliberately excessive, horrific and disgusting, certainly, and never in a manner that can be reconciled as theatrical or humourous.
Conversely, the film, as all of PPP's do, exploits to the fullest Italy's abundant, unending surfeit of natural, geographical, architectural/interior and human
beauty. In this respect, it's one of his finest, and, dare I say it, on a par with Kubrick's Barry Lyndon; this countered though by the negativity
of the action. Like others of his work, there's some manner of intellectual allusion (Dante, de Sade) in the film's structure, but it "works" on its own too.
The late WWII circumstances are "present" but largely in the background, and, while the intention may have been to vilify the fascist regime, the trappings of same are largely absent. The impending demise of the RSI is not hinted at, save for the sound of remote bombers in the air.
It is thought that the depiction of regime associates in the film may have informed Pasolini's murder shortly before its release. Not surprisingly for Italy, there are no two concurring versions of the circumstances surrounding his death, and the matter remains ripe for picking by conspiracy theorists.
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