The film almanac in which some of the most active European young directors of the late 60s took part.
The first novella sets a quite decent pace of narration. Carlo Lizani removes a very dynamic novella, one half of which resembles the films of giallo, and the other - "Eclipse" Antonioni.
The universe represented by Lizani is completely indifferent to the pain and suffering of others. A criminal can easily get lost in the crowd and in broad daylight rape and kill a girl under the windows of an apartment building.
Then the pace of the story is lost. Novella Bernardo Bertolucci tells about the agony of a dying person. I cannot say about the merits of this novella, but I note that in the late 60s Bernardo experimented a lot and was not afraid to make mistakes. I am sure that this novel helped him to show talent and realize. However, I didn’t like Bertolucci’s film at all – I think the suffering of a dying person is a very difficult topic. The maestro mixed realism (the smallest nuances of suffering) and lyricism. The result was a dance against the background of the moans of the dying.
Novella Pazzolini is overly politicized and short, so I could not form a special opinion.
Novella Godara is just a long dialogue between a man and a girl. As usual, many words. Too much. Except that, remember the phrase: "I watch a lot of movies, but I see a little movie".
Belocchio is filming a novel about how students stage a student riot with each other. They, like in the theater, are divided into groups and play roles: students - rebels, teachers, authorities, policemen.
In general, the presented film is a typical counter-cultural product of the late 60s. "The shackles will fall" - proclaims the hero. It is this “message” that accompanies the entire film, which is clearly not its merit. At the same time, the artistic merits of the film are more than doubtful, despite the big names of its creators. Bertolucci, Godard, Pazzolini and others are more likely to experiment and inform the audience of their attitude to student protests than create a movie.
3 out of 10