Dioniso a Charenton: de Sade e Quills (Philip Kaufman, 2000)

This article aims at examining Quills (Philip Kaufman, 2000), a movie set at the Charenton insane asylum where the marquis de Sade was confined in the last years of his life (1803-1814). In this film the key issues at stake go beyond the biography of the infamous Marquis. Writer, director and actors wanted to represent and discuss daring and eternal problems such as censorship, art, freedom of expression, and their risks. Furthermore, the author devotes attention to the use of a fundamental book on Greek tragedy that is aptly employed to strenghten the plot, to deepen and to improve the contrast between the leading characters.