Pasolini’s central and most complex film. In a wealthy household inhabited by a well-mannered family, a handsome young stranger appears. No one knows where he comes from or even his name. He captivates everyone, wins their trust — and seduces each member of the household: the maid, the mother, the daughter, the son, the father. Then he disappears, and those he leaves behind begin to behave strangely, as something hidden beneath the mask of prosperity and respectability starts to surface.
The film’s central mystery remains: who entered the house in the guise of this seductive young man — the Devil, God, or someone embodying both? Pasolini offers no clear answers, prompting viewers to debate this question to this day and to arrive at their own conclusions. (“Arzamas”)