Films like The Idlers of the Fertile Valley.

The Idlers of the Fertile Valley (1978) reads as Sombre, slow-burn, measured satire / decadence, inventive in texture. Nihilistic, intimate, cold. Every film below is ranked by distance across the same twelve hand-scored axes — with what it keeps, and where it walks away. Not a genre dump.

The Divine Comedy (1991) poster
1. The Divine Comedy1991

Keeps the patient, unhurried pace and the cold, bleak undertow; trades toward a unmistakable directorial hand.

The Pornographers (1966) poster
2. The Pornographers1966

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the pitch-dark outlook; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

Agraharathil Kazhutai (1977) poster
3. Agraharathil Kazhutai1977

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the pitch-dark outlook; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

The Garden of Delights (1970) poster
4. The Garden of Delights1970

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the pitch-dark outlook; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

Recollections of the Yellow House (1989) poster
5. Recollections of the Yellow House1989

Keeps the patient, unhurried pace and the pitch-dark outlook; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

The Canterbury Tales (Pasolini) (1972) poster
6. The Canterbury Tales (Pasolini)1972

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the pitch-dark outlook; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

Grey Gardens (1975) poster
7. Grey Gardens1975

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the pitch-dark outlook; trades toward a heightened unreality.

The Decameron (Pasolini) (1971) poster
8. The Decameron (Pasolini)1971

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the pitch-dark outlook; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

Mealtimes (1967) poster
9. Mealtimes1967

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the pitch-dark outlook; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

The Mongols (1973) poster
10. The Mongols1973

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the intimate, personal stakes; trades toward a bone-dry seriousness.

The Hare Census (1973) poster
11. The Hare Census1973

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the pitch-dark outlook; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

The Part-Time Work of a Domestic Slave (1973) poster
12. The Part-Time Work of a Domestic Slave1973

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the pitch-dark outlook; trades toward a patient, unhurried pace.

These are The Idlers of the Fertile Valley’s neighbours — where are yours?

Rate five posters and the same twelve axes read you — then tonight’s pick comes from your own centre of taste.

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