This is a fascinating debut by writer-director Pier Paolo Pasolini, who has scripted some interesting pix.

The character of Accattone himself, self-destructive and conscious of his situation within a class from which he cannot escape, embodies many of the contradictions in Pasolini's lifetime of coming to terms with Marxism and Catholicism.

The result is uneven, but not without distinction.

Pasolini frequently uses those who push themselves to the margins of society to expose our collective and individual weaknesses, and our determination to maintain the image of order.