Rating: 3.5/5
Criterion Challenge 2023 | 25/52 | Laurie Anderson’s Closet Picks
Andreuccio of Perugia A woman cons someone into thinking they’re siblings. He falls through a trapdoor into a vat of excrement while she steals his belongings.
Ciappelletto, the Thief One man tells a promiscuous nun story, while another offers coins to children for sex.
Masetto da Lamporecchio The gardener seeks employment in a nunnery. He masquerades as deaf and dumb. The nuns use him for sex, believing him incapable of reporting it.
Peronella A woman hides her lover from her husband in a jar. She claims he is looking over the jar to purchase it.
Ser Ciappelletto of Prato A homosexual blaspheming crook hides in Germany. To protect his accomplices’ reputations, he lies to a priest on his deathbed.
Giotto’s Pupil A painter travels to paint the basilica. The rain catches him. He asks a farmer for rags to protect him. In rags, he walks through town with no one noticing him. We regularly return to his story throughout as he paints scenes from the stories.
Caterina di Valbona and Riccardo A woman lies to her parents to sleep with a boy she likes. The parents discover them but are happy to marry them for the dowry.
Elizabeth of Messina and Lorenzo, the Sicilian A rich woman falls in love with a family employee. Upon discovering this, her brothers kill the man and deceive her with a business trip story. But her lover’s ghost tells a different tale.
Gemmata A man lodges with a couple. He claims he can turn anyone into a horse. They beg him to perform it on the wife. The miracle is a cover for having sex with her.
Heaven and Hell Two friends agree. If one of them dies, they tell the other about the afterlife. When one dies, he appears in a dream. He says sex isn’t as big of a sin as they thought.
This story is my favorite for the religious vision and the stunning imagery that resembles classic religious paintings.
A loose adaptation of Boccaccio’s allegory, the film takes the themes and morals of the original to criticize Italy’s treatment of the lower class. I don’t know the original stories, but the adaptations seem faithful on the surface.
The movie’s motivation is provocation. The church makes saints of sinners, hiding away corruption to preserve their reputation. Deceptions and secret agreements keep the rich and powerful in standing.
The film also explores the disconnect between artistic ambition and the fruit of their labor. Art falls short of the dream. This aligns with Pasolini’s later disappointment with this movie, which led to him disowning it.
All the stories are told well. Some of them are funny, but none of them connected with me on an emotional level.
Laurie Anderson picked this because “she couldn’t resist.”