Director: Pier Paolo PASOLINI

Pier Paolo Pasolini electrifies the myth of Medea (seduced and betrayed by Jason, she takes drastic measures to extract her revenge) with a mixture of ritual theatre and social anthropology. Maria Callas is riveting in the title role, giving a profoundly expressive performance as the deranged sorceress. Under Pasolini’s direction, the plight of colonised cultures is symbolised by Medea as she surrenders to the foreign intruder, betrays the secrets of her people and, in doing so, is driven to madness and murder.

In pre-war Italy, a young couple have a baby boy. The father, however, is jealous of his son – and the scene moves to antiquity, where the baby is taken into the desert to be killed. He is rescued, given the name Edipo (OEdipus), and brought up by the King and Queen of Corinth as their son. One day an oracle informs Edipo that he is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Horrified,  he flees Corinth and his supposed parents – only to get into a fight and kill an older man on the road… Pasolini mixes autobiographical elements with Greek tragedy.

A pimp with no other means to provide for himself finds his life spiraling out of control when his prostitute is sent to prison.