La Commare Secca DVD

A prostitute is murdered by night in a Roman park. One by one the police interview the men who were in vicinity at the time-a petty thief, a hen-pecked pimp, a soldier on leave, a waiter and a pair of awkward lads keen to impress their girlfiends. As each gives his version of events, the story of what happened that night is revealed. Written by Bertolucci's friend and colleague, Pier Paolo Pasolini, this gripping portrait of the lower echelons of 1960s Roman society marks the directorial debut of the most successful Italian director of the late 20th century who went on to make some of cinema's most lauded films (The Last Emperor, Last Tango in Paris, The Conformist). An innovative and experimental narrative, La Commare Secca has been likened to Akira Kurosawa's great Rashomon, although Bertolucci had not previously seen the film.