Pasolini did embrace a form of realism during that period which was heavily influenced by 68-era political theory. Godard was interested in similar ideas in some of his late 60s-early 70s films. I'm not sure either of them would've described it as 'amateurish', but it does come over that way at times.
Anyway, last night I rewatched
La Belle et la Bete
Love this so much. Some of my all-time favourite scenes/moments in all cinema.
