Ascilto at end of film *SPOILER WARNING*
One moment he walks out of a building with Encolpio, the next moment Encolpio finds him lying dead on the ground. Did I miss something?
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MovieChat Forums > Fellini - Satyricon (1970) Discussion > Ascilto at end of film *SPOILER WARNING*
When Encolpio and Ascilto are travelling on the oxen-drawn ferry to visit Enotea, Ascilto bounces in his hand what appears to be a bag of coins which the ferryman notices. Once Encolpio is within Enotea's hut, Ascilto is shown through an opening in the wall being attacked by the ferryman who uses an oar. Next we see the ferryman with a hugh knife attacking and seemingly wounding Ascilto. Later, Ascilto enters the hut in a bent over position while asking Encolpio to leave. After Encolpio begins to run, the viewer sees Ascilto lying dead in the grass: his chest is exposed revealing what appears to be a slash across it with possible additional contusions to the neck and temple areas.
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When Ascilto and the ferryman are fighting, the ferryman appears to stab Ascilto with a large knife on the left side with significant enough force to knock Ascilto over. Later, after Ascilto and Encolpio have left the hut and Encolpio goes ahead and encourages Ascilto to run, Ascilto is seen stumbling behind holding onto his left side near waist level providing an almost certain reference to the fact that he had been seriously wounded in that area.
When Encolpio initially finds the body his right hand remains on Ascilto's shoulder while his left hand travels further down the left side of the chest toward the probable proposed site of the wound before withdrawing. So the presence of the wound, while possible not clearly visible, is certainly clearly implied by the surrounding circumstances.
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The film credits indicate that the movie is presented as a free adaptation of the Petronius' classic. Therefore it may be questionable whether Fellini meant to follow every aspect and/or nuance of the original novel.
Here's one possible interpretation: When the film opens Encolpio is giving his recitation in front of a stone wall covered with a misshapen web of graffiti.
Through Ascilto's responses, most notably "...friendship can last only as long as it's convenient..." and Giton's subsequent actions it becomes apparent that Encolpio's perspective is the most sincere, at least in relation to that of his friends (and seemingly to that of a large number of the people playing a part in this adventure).
Ironically, Ascilto and Gitone both end up, in a sense, as victims of the sword: Giton is captured by the captain of a gang of sword wielding pirates and Ascilto is, of course, stabbed by the ferryman. ("Great Gods...how far he lies from his destination...") As a result, Gitone disappears from the film and Ascilto dies.
During the film's final scenes, a newly triumphant Encolpio passes his final test of personal transcendence by rejecting Eumolpo's last will and testament requesting involvement in a revolting feast in return for material wealth. We then see Encolpio moving toward the sea with a newly discovered like-minded friend and his associates.
Encolpio's final living portrait is represented as a head shot against the sea (a possible symbol of having reached a fully self-actualized psychological/spiritual destination?) Eventually he becomes immortalized with a few of the friends and associates he has left behind on a fresco ruin.
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Well, possibly it best be assumed that those seeing this film through the "eyes of the church" are those whom are members of the church.
Fellini has been quoted as saying that "...if you see with innocent eyes everything is divine..." (his quote, not mine)
Speaking from the aspect of the film, the first time the viewer is made aware of Encolpio's sexual dysfunction with any of his partners is during his tryst with Ariadne during the Festival of the God Mirth which is presented as a kind of vignette of black comedy. He leaves this misadventure very upset at his inability to perform with a woman after having looked like a "...drowned mouse on top of a cow..."
He then travels to the Garden of Delights where he meets a group of women whom attempt to use their therapy to restore his virility.
When this strategy fails, he travels to yet another woman, Enotea, who uses her type of therapy to successfully cure Encolpio to the point where he proclaims "Mercury has given me back my power."
The fact that his ability to perform with a woman has been accomplished is, in itself, a progressive step toward a sense of further self-actualization.
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You are quite right ! Something is missing. I have a copy of Eileen Lanouette Hughes'book entitled On the Set of Fellini Satyricon which was published by Morrow in 1971 and among its 26 black and white photographs a photo of Ascilto's murder by the boatman can be seen which is much more explicit than what we can see in the released film.
I believe the scene was probably deleted much like the famous scene where Capucine and a half-naked Hiram Keller are holding hands. There is no such scene in the film.
This is all the more frustrating since the newly released Criterion blu-ray doesn't include any bonus about the deleted scenes.
Finally, the Fellini foundation in Italy presents Satyricon as having a duration of 138 minutes. The blu-ray has only 130 minutes, which leaves us with 8 mysterious missing minutes. What ever happened to them?