Pasolini's Oedipus Rex works great for me, personally. Watching the film is like going to a venue where you must make yourself a part of the audience, put yourself into the experience, in order to have it work for you. The desert setting, tribal elements, and dramatic intensity all do a great job of getting one into the experience. The film feels, overall, grounded in an earthy seriousness, which allows for an Oedipus that is supremely prideful without being ridiculous. Various moments and images in the film stand out: Oedipus naively laughs as he thinks the prophecy is but a joke, Laius puts on his crown as he faces Oedipus with an authoritarian stare, Jocasta's change of expression when she hears that which she does not want to know. The haunting, abrasive score creates a fatalistic mood that runs through the film. All-in-all, Pasolini's Oedipus Rex is one to watch for lovers of drama, for those who seek experiences that can put them in a state of rapture.

4.75 / 5.0