About a year ago, I posted a review of The Human Centipede on my YouTube channel. That film is notorious for being hard-to-watch due to the nature of its subject matter. Almost immediately after I posted that video review, people began asking me to watch and review a film entitled Salò. I had to confess that I’d never heard of it but I immediately began looking for information on the film.
What I learned was that Salò was a 1975 film about a group of teenagers who, during World War II, are kidnapped by four Italian fascist leaders and subjected to all kinds of mental, sexual, and physical torture. I also learned that it was banned in several countries because of its content and explicit depictions of violence and sexual acts. At face value, this didn’t sound the slightest bit appealing. With so many other movies to watch, subjecting myself to two hours of that kind of material just did not warrant any further effort on my part and I put the idea to bed.
Then, about a two months ago, I ran across the film at a local used DVD store. It was a copy of the film released in 2011 by the Criterion Collection who, according to their website, “are dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements.” This sparked my curiousity again. Although I didn’t buy the film that day, I did remember it when Criterion had a sale on their website and I purchased a copy on Blu-ray.
Why am I telling you this before reviewing the film? Because I want to convey the fact that I initially had no interest in seeing Salò at all. The more research I did after seeing the Criterion Collection version on the shelf convinced me that the film might have some merit as a commentary on corruption. I also tell you this because, after one viewing, I’m not completely sure I can review it the same way I’d review a typical film because this is about as atypical a movie as I’m sure to see in my lifetime.
The brief plot summary I’ve already given truly does sum up the entire “story” of the film. The story isn’t what’s important here. There are no characters with which to sympathize or get to know. We are given little or no backstory for the majority of the players involved. Salò‘s storyline merely provides a backdrop to the terrible things that are done to the teenagers. Writer and director Pier Paolo Pasolini has infused the situations and dialogue with a thematic commentary on the nature of how absolute power can corrupt humanity to extremes. Conversely, Pasolini also asks his audience to question the complicity of the “victims.” Do they deserve what’s happening to them because they simply take it without question? Clearly, they outnumber their captors so why do they not conspire amongst themselves and escape? Or at least try?
Sadly, because the film is full of shocking imagery, the message that Pasolini was attempting to convey is overshadowed by the film’s reputation as one of the “sickest movies of all time.” (And, sadly, that is why fans of The Human Centipede recommended it to me.) This is not a movie that was made on the cheap to provide simple shock value. It is a beautifully photographed and artfully constructed film that also features a lovely (and almost inappropriately upbeat) soundtrack by Ennico Morricone.
That said, Salò remains an incredibly difficult film to recommend. While it is an important, well-made, and thought-provoking film, it is not an experience that am likely to put myself through again any time soon, if at all.
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
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