Tacticalin An absolute waste of money

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Keira Brennan The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

angelikafauve Surpassing the new-realistic themes or those of past history Pasolini enters deep waters of philosophical questions of post- industrial society mainly on those concerning the upper class of those possessing the production means. It is a hard accusation there of unmeaning way of life. Now the technique and theme is surrealistic, reminding "maitre of surreal", Bunuel's, former film "The Exterminator Angel". In their big wealthy Milanese house they're all wandering without a meaning of existence. The son has no talent for the art of painting he wants to follow, the daughter has no love to stand upon, the mother the same. Dressed with high fashion clothes and hair-styled the same, she passes all time wandering in the big garden with no real feelings deep inside her. Her husband spends all time at his industry not paying any real attention to his family. Their maid as she represents the opposite to bourgeoisie class stays always silent serving them the dinner - a figure representing New Testament's "Happy those who have no mind". She is the one who can be saved as she returns to her village staying silent all day with no food or water. As the stranger arrives all are astonished by his beauty: His eyes, his smile, signs for the promised paradise they couldn't attend on this earth. But are they really attracted to his beauty or in the notion of salvation he carries? With this prophetic film Pier-Paolo Pasolini shows that there is no salvation in that chosen road: surrounding landscape is cold and desert if it is without the human joy of life. Where that joy is hidden? In the blue eyes of the visitor, in the open air smile and joy he carries with him. But as he has to leave the house all again is getting more and more obscure. The boy's paintings a mess on the walls of his room, girl's pessimism in not finding affection hidden in the old family's photo albums drives her to complete paranoia. Same for the father who wants to get rid of the factory offering it to the labor-workers, drives him to madness in Milan's rail-way station by getting rid of all his clothes. Same for the wife who is searching for love affairs in the streets with passing by strangers. The only one who can be saved is maid's returning to her village, gifted with miracle's power to cure diseases. Last scene with her body except the head in the ground an allegory of the lamb carrying all human sins. There is no way of salvation no matter if you are lamb or wolf. For the first the mud of this world, for the second the madness. Mud, madness is the crowing of that post-war industrial society Pasolini says. Contrary to Trilogy of Life looking at as an Ode to Life, this film is an Ode to Death. If you want something to be changed to that structure you find yourself powerless and mad to the end. Why this terrifying Teorema is in front us? Because - according to precedent Pasolini's works of the new-realistic school, is built on exploitation of other people, on no-mercy rules of western societies which condemns people living in poverty, growing aversion between them. The building you construct has no strong basis it's going to fall, he says to us. Finally a bell is ringing? An SOS bell. A pessimistic sound for society we all live. Teorema is a puzzle that can't be solved by human race of modern times.Only if you have salvation angel besides you, who by all means, you keep it all time close to you, salvation could be earned.

Aditya Gokhale Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Teorema" had me dumbfounded! It was one of those rare instances where I was unable to formulate a clear opinion of what I thought about it. For one, this minimalist picture from the controversial filmmaker has "art-house" written all over it. Yes, there is extreme minimalism, very little dialog (it seems the number of actual spoken words in the film is about 923!). This almost silent film is allegorical…rife with symbolism and religious connotations, and may not be a very interesting subject matter for those looking at mainstream cinema, that is for sure! Terence Stamp is "The Visitor", a mysterious stranger who once visits the mansion of a rich family of four. The man of the house is Paolo, a rich businessman who owns a factory, and then there's his awkward son, a daughter, a beautiful wife who is sexually repressed and a scary-looking maid. In the next few days that pass, this visitor has sexual encounters with each of the inhabitants of the house! In a way, he "seduces" them. And almost as suddenly as he appears, he soon takes leave of them, leaving them in a state like never before! All of these people he "touched" exhibit marked changes in their lives, of a different level altogether! The "consequences" forms the crux of this strange film and paves way for detailed discussion! What makes Pasolini's film so important is the daring concept that Pasolini presents to his viewers with a script set in the contemporary world. From what I understand, The visitor is supposed to be a God-send or an angel who influences the members of the house in one way or another. Why "sexually" is a good question, but that depends on how you see it. Is it the touch of God, or the Devil's seduction? Perhaps it is symbolic of a "close encounter with God"? So what exactly does God do to these bourgeois individuals? Apparently he makes them see beyond their pretentious cocooned life. They all go through a self-realization phase, which they all confess one by one to the Visitor when it is time for him to leave. But he isn't there to see the changes. Are these changes always positive? Does being "blessed" always lead to happiness? Or is there another side to it? Pasolini, through his seemingly simple yet highly complex allegory poses these ambiguous questions, which likely polarized his audiences, based on their religious beliefs! Being an atheist I wasn't particularly offended or overwhelmed with the subject, but I was definitely intrigued by how drastically different this film and its viewpoint is! Pasolini's technique of story-telling is poetic! It is almost like Pasolini deliberately chose the visual style as exists in the film to give it a meditative form. Long takes, solitude, mostly gentle atmosphere, intermittent random scenes of a vast empty desert, the presence of a radiant light just before the visitor appears, all tactfully done! The visuals are also enchanting, the cinematography is beautiful, with the colours changing from sepia (in the beginning during the introduction of the characters, perhaps to show their 'ordinary' life?) to vividly colourful (a marked change with the introduction of the "visitor"?). It is then, mostly on the technical front and the handling of the film with its layered theme that makes "Teorema" most watchable.Where it falters is in some (only a couple or three) haphazard sequences here and there, and in the tepid acting from the actors playing the son and the daughter. I don't know if it was intentional but the daughter, Odetta (Anne Wiazemsky) who also appeared in Robert Bresson's "Au Hasard Balthazar" delivers what could be one of the most wooden acting performances I've seen! At one point it even becomes slightly apparent that she is reading her lines from cue cards!! The son, Pietro is played by Andrés José Cruz Soublette also seems somewhat awkward, but maybe his acting reflects his character who behaves like that owing to being a closeted homosexual! The finest acting then comes from Terence Stamp, even though he doesn't have much to do except give mysterious smiles once in a while and appear compassionate! A close second best actor in the film is the beautiful Silvana Magnano, the lady of the house. Her Lucia's perplexed state of mind is wonderfully portrayed by the actress. Also impressive is Laura Betti as Emilia, the maid. Laura looks and acts the weird Emilia quite earnestly.But how does one eventually evaluate and rate something as flummoxing as "Teorema"? Why is it even called that anyway? ('Teorema' means 'Theorem') There are views that the structure of the film itself and the psychological transformation of all characters follow a single formulaic structure! The film doesn't boast of great acting, neither is it an intimate character portrait. Not all characters are dug deep into. The subject matter is not what one would fall in love with, but it sure is extremely interesting! But in spite of this, there is something about "Teorema" that makes it worthwhile. While the visuals and the characters haunt your memory long after the film is over, the happenings in the narrative will give you something to ponder about. It is not a film one may go ga-ga about, but can one ever forget having watched "Teorema"? Hell, no! Score: 8/10.

ardavan_sh2006 i'm afraid that "teorema" is a complicated movie & it's not like Pasolini's "trilogy of life" which could attract the mainstream viewers.this movie has an obscure structure with a mysterious stranger who makes everything upside-down. (who's that stranger? another Billy Budd?(with the same actor), why he sexually influences them all ?)..it could be interpreted as Pasolini's attack to the fake solidarity in a bourgeois-class family. what i like particularly in "teorema" is Pasolini's masterwork with color, landscapes n architecture.Depends on your taste & recommended for Pier Paolo's fans,only.

Shuggy Someone said you should look at your mood before rating this film. I had to walk an unnecessary kilometre to buy my ticket, someone was using a cellphone during the credits, and the WHOLE film was shown in a too-wide aspect ratio - after I had alerted the organisers, having seen the problem while watching the splash-page, over and over. (It was shown rather dimly off a DVD.) So I have to give the film a huge discount for my grumpiness.I didn't like it. I don't despise it, because I think Pasolini was sincere in making it, not trying to put one over us with pretentious piffle (cf Fellini). It's certainly not the worst film ever made, not dishonest, condescending or manipulative, just slow, opaque and uninvolving (but maybe the last is just me; see above).My (and most people's?) disconnect from Teorema is that we can no longer identify with the Italian Catholic guilt that overcame most of the family after succumbing to Terence Stamp's undoubted charms. He had sex with them (usually at their instigation - to say "he seduced them" is to exaggerate wildly) and a reaction is to be expected, but catatonia? Levitation and autointerment? Bad art? (OK, bad art.) And is there really a volcanic desert handy to the Milan (?) railway station that anyone can walk to naked without being intercepted?So when it (finally!) said "FINE" I said "Fine by me."