The Decameron is an episodic film based on several tales from Giovanni Boccaccio's collection. A pupil of Giotto, played by Pasolini himself, arrives in Naples to paint a mural and links together a series of bawdy, mischievous stories. Along the way we meet swindles, thefts, romantic affairs inside a convent, a wife hiding her lover from a dim-witted husband, and a young couple who fall in love while playing hide and seek. Each episode keeps a light, earthy and humorous tone.

How it was made

Pasolini wrote and directed the film from Boccaccio's tales, but he never aimed to recreate the world of the characters faithfully. He moved many stories to southern Italy and filmed them in the Neapolitan dialect, using them as a metaphor for the exploitation of the poorer South by the richer North and for the contemporary world more broadly. It is the first part of his so-called Trilogy of Life, followed by The Canterbury Tales and Arabian Nights. Alberto Grimaldi produced, Tonino Delli Colli shot the film and Ennio Morricone composed the score. Pasolini appears as Giotto's pupil, and Ninetto Davoli plays Andreuccio.

Reception and legacy

The film was entered into the 21st Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear Extraordinary Jury Prize. Critics responded very positively. Pasolini, however, was troubled by the many low-quality imitations and remakes that followed its release, which he saw as an insult to the film's anticapitalist message. In his final days before his death, he came to disown the film.