A World of Love

Director Grimaldi follows his 1996 Nerolio, a fictional study of Pasolini's last days, with this biopic examining the controversial writer and film-maker's early years in his native Friuli. As a young teacher, he is accused of sexual misconduct with boys, effectively disowned by his father and finds himself en route to Rome with his loyal mother, destined for an altogether different life. The film feels true to the facts, and Paglia certainly catches the look of Pier Paolo, but there's a marked absence of Pasolini's combative zest for living in both playing and direction, and one wonders what purpose the film was designed to serve, beyond mere record.