Calderón is a tragedy in verse, inspired by the 17th century author Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s masterpiece, Life is a Dream. However, the atmosphere, plot and context are radically different: we are in Francoist Spain in the 1960s, amidst revolutionary awakenings and the logic of power seems to leave only room for freedom in dreams or in the paintings of Diego Velázquez. Pasolini makes a lucid and merciless x-ray of power, its way of renewing itself and staying old, its changes and strategies. A labyrinthine text in which multiple levels and traits coexist in a continuous and rich game of connections. A dense text that challenges viewers to question their very existence in history.
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Un dramma composito in cui convivono reminiscenze da La vita è sogno – suggerite dal titolo che rimanda al suo autore – ritratto della società franchista e denuncia del fascismo. Una coesistenza di piani contenutistici e linguistici maneggiati con talento dal regista, al suo secondo felice incontro con Pasolini, qui lucidissimo nel ritrarre il pericolo dell’avvento di un nuovo totalitarismo.
