La Rabbia

La Rabbia

1963 · 104 min · ★ 7.0 · Documentary

Documentary footage (from the 1950s) and accompanying commentary to attempt to answer the existential question, Why are our lives characterized by discontent, anguish, and fear? The film is in two completely separate parts, and the directors of these respective sections, left-wing Pier Paolo Pasolini and conservative Giovanni Guareschi, offer the viewer contrasting analyses of and prescriptions for modern society. Part I, by Pasolini, is a denunciation of the offenses of Western culture, particularly those against colonized Africa. It is at the same time a chronicle of the liberation and independence of the former African colonies, portraying these peoples as the new protagonists of the world stage, holding up Marxism as their "salvation", and suggesting that their "innocent ferocity" will be the new religion of the era. Guareschi's part, by contrast, constitutes a defense of Western civilization and a word of hope, couched in traditional Christian terms, for man's future.

Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini · Written by Pier Paolo Pasolini

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Cast

Giorgio Bassani Poetry Narrator - Part One (voice)
Renato Guttuso Prose Narrator - Part One (voice)
Gigi Artuso Narrator - Part Two (voice)
Carlo Romano Narrator - Part Two (voice)
Charles de Gaulle Self (archive footage)
Dwight D. Eisenhower Self (archive footage)
Yuri Gagarin Self (archive footage)
Ava Gardner Self (archive footage)
Nikita Khrushchev Self (archive footage)
Vladimir Lenin Self (archive footage)
Sophia Loren Self (archive footage)
Marilyn Monroe Self (archive footage)

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La Rabbia

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