Pasolini
Kino Lorber | Release Date: May 10, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
71
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesA.O. ScottMay 9, 2019
The blend of pornography and humor, obnoxiousness and elegance, sweetness and cruelty reminds you that this is, above all, an Abel Ferrara movie. And the splendor of Pasolini lies in its essentially collaborative nature. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzMay 10, 2019
A love letter from one iconoclastic Italian Catholic artist to another, Abel Ferrara's Pasolini stays far from the cliches of the Hollywood biopic, embracing a fragmented, intense, impressionistic approach. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineJake ColeOct 20, 2015
Biopics ascribe titanic importance to a subject's every gesture, but Ferrara stresses the reality of creation, of its ordinary activities that nonetheless give an artist a sense of fulfillment. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Mark KermodeMay 9, 2019
“Narrative art is dead – we are in a period of mourning”; “To scandalise is a right, to be scandalised a pleasure”; “Refusal must be great, absolute, absurd…” Abel Ferrara’s infatuated tribute to Pier Paolo Pasolini is littered with such gnomic bon mots, which could apply equally to either director. Read full review
80
Time OutTrevor JohnstonMay 3, 2019
To be fair, the full impact probably depends on some prior Pasolini knowledge, but even those coming in fresh will appreciate a haunting portrait of an artist destroyed by the anticommunist prejudices he fought to tear down. Read full review
80
The GuardianXan BrooksSep 14, 2014
It’s a work of startling maturity from this incorrigible tearaway, a minor-key dream that finally turns towards darkness. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinSep 14, 2014
Ferrara has come up with something pretty special here: a subtle, seductive, lamp-lit hymn to one artist’s talents from another in the process of rediscovering his own. Read full review
75
The Film StageTommaso TocciMay 9, 2019
It’s an absorbing portrait, particularly compelling when relying on Pasolini’s own words, which we hear verbatim through original letters and interviews. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyMay 7, 2019
And yet the movie never errs in its sincerity, which extends all the way to the decision to depict Pasolini’s murder in graphic detail. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleMay 30, 2019
Ultimately, Ferrara makes a convincing case for being Pasolini’s biographical caretaker, one troublemaker looking after another’s legacy, albeit with a more serious, thoughtful approach than a transgressive one. Read full review
70
TheWrapDave WhiteMay 12, 2019
With this determination to eschew simple explanations, to avoid being reductive about the cause and effect of an artist’s work and life, and to remain true to the cloudy circumstances surrounding Pasolini’s murder, comes a troubling directorial decision to turn the man’s death into a symbol — of what is unclear. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAug 7, 2019
Of course it helps tremendously that Willem Dafoe plays Pasolini. Just as he did with 2018’s "At Eternity’s Gate," in which he embodied the artist Vincent van Gogh, Dafoe brilliantly captures the essence and a more-than-reasonable resemblance to the real figures. Read full review
67
The PlaylistJessica KiangSep 14, 2014
Abel Ferrara’s Pasolini is a frustrating film, despite vast stretches of compelling storytelling. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 9, 2019
It’s an intriguing, startlingly restrained and even cerebral piece of work from Ferrara, an unimpeachably serious homage, with an assured lead performance from Willem Dafoe. Read full review
60
CineVueJohn BleasdaleSep 14, 2014
One feels its subject would have admired the boldness of its conception, if perhaps not its overly slick execution. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneySep 14, 2014
It was a given that this meeting of two iconoclastic directors would yield something far more unfettered and instinctive than conventional bio-drama. But the result borders on incoherence, providing few startling insights for aficionados and minimal illumination for the uninitiated. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeSep 14, 2014
Ferrara finds himself imitating rather than innovating. Read full review
42
HitfixCatherine BraySep 14, 2014
Ferrara is openly inviting comparison with Pasolini’s work in this ambitious but messy and flawed piece, where reality bends and stretches and sensation rules. Read full review
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