In Pasolini's eyes, the film seems to have two themes. Pasolini could have simply written these on little cards and passed them out at parties to get these messages across. He didn't have to bore us with this pointless epic. Of these only Mangano is a true thespian and she, wisely, says little in the film. Mainly she sits around and looks lovely, a wise choice.
Nobody knows what they are doing here.
The film makes no sense and the actors can make no sense of it. Not surprisingly, they seem to just be going the motions on screen. Pasolini spends much of his time showing us the backdrop of the film with several apparent natives popping up here and there. One has a hard time believing anyone still lives like this and yet one must believe they do. Pasolini tries in vain to inject some color into the film at times but it all falls flat.