| Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Lina Wertmüller |
| Produced by | Romano Cardarelli |
| Written by | Lina Wertmüller |
| Starring | Giancarlo Giannini Mariangela Melato Riccardo Salvino Isa Danieli |
| Music by | Piero Piccioni |
| Cinematography | Giulio Battiferri Giuseppe Fornari Ennio Guarnieri Stefano Ricciotti |
| Editing by | Franco Fraticelli |
| Distributed by | Koch-Lorber Films |
| Release date(s) | 18 December 1974 |
| Running time | 116 min |
| Language | Italian |
Swept Away (full English title: Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August, full Italian title: Travolti da un insolito destino nell'azzurro mare d'agosto) is a 1974 Italian film written and directed by Lina Wertmüller. It is a study in romance and class warfare.
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The movie stars Giancarlo Giannini as long-abused crewmember Gennarino Carunchio, toiling on a yacht rented by a wealthy couple, Raffaella Pavone Lanzetti (Mariangela Melato) and Mr. Pavone Lanzetti (Riccardo Salvino). A beautiful, wealthy, spoiled woman, Raffaella takes endless pleasure in verbally abusing Gennarino over nearly everything, but especially about his Communist politics. When an unusual event at sea leaves Gennarino and Raffaella cast away on a deserted Mediterranean island, the tables are finally turned and the Communist sailor suddenly has the upper hand in the relationship.
American film critic Roger Ebert gave the movie four stars, his highest rating.
Many reviewers criticized the film as deeply misogynistic, with its themes of violence against women, subjugation, and rape. Anthony Kaufman, in The Village Voice, called it "possibly the most outrageously misogynist film ever made by a woman."[1]
Some reviewers and analysts responded that those who focused on the misogyny simply didn't understand the film's message about class warfare. James Berardinelli defended the film, writing "Those who view this film casually may easily mistake it for a male fantasy...The reality, however, is that Wertmuller is exhibiting the courage to show things that other filmmakers shy away from."[2] John P. Lovell wrote "The sexual violence can be analyzed as political violence within the framework of patriarchal politics and the film's concern with a symbolic presentation of social revolt."[3]
In Jump Cut, Tania Modleski dismissed those justifications, contending that critics would not have been so kind to those who made films which reinforced stereotypes—culminating in violent subjugation—about oppressed ethnic groups, so there was no justification for critics to praise a rape-fantasy film. Responding to the film's message about class warfare, she wrote "So even if Wertmuller wanted to convey only a political message, she has clouded rather than clarified the issues. She should have made both parties male."[4]
The movie was remade in 2002 as Swept Away, starring Madonna and directed by her then husband Guy Ritchie, but received very poor reviews from critics worldwide. The 2006 movie Survival Island features similar plot.
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