A parable of redemption, set in the slums of Rome, Accattone “The Scrounger” (Franco Citti) lives as a thief, beggar and pimp. He falls in love with Stella (Franca Pasut), and tries to reform, but fails. According to Sadoul, “Accattone is neorealism rejuvenated - with a vengeance. There is none of the sentimentalism that marks some of the postwar Italian films; for Pasolini, there is no solution to Accattone's problem, no escape from the vicious circle of despair, vice, and poverty. This was Pasolini's first film. Its rough-edged style, its cool, unhysterical portrayal of corruption, cruelty, and violence, and its quiet lyricism marked one of the most significant directorial debuts of the sixties.”