Swept Away

Continuing my look at the films of Lina Wertmuller, I turn to 1974's Swept Away (the full title is Swept Away By An Unusual Destiny In The Blue Sea Of August), which was controversial then and even more so now, as it can be interpreted as deeply misogynist. Not too many films today are made where a woman is regularly slapped around and it isn't seen as a particularly bad thing.

Mariangela Melato plays a very spoiled rich woman who is vacationing with friends aboard a yacht. Her politics are reactionary, and her friends teasingly call her a fascist. She is fiercely anti-communist. She also mistreats the crew on the boat, saying the spaghetti is undercooked or the wine is too warm.

One of the crew, Giancarlo Giannini, is disgusted by her, but also gets turned on watching her sunbathe topless. He is a committed communist, and from the south of Italy (those from the North, who are more Germanic, look down on the southerners).

One day Melato unwisely insists on Giannini taking her out in a dinghy to join her friends for a swim. It is near dark and the current is strong. The motor goes kaput and they drift until they can't see land. Eventually they find an uninhabited island. This is when Giannini turns the tables on Melato, saying she will serve him, and knocks her around. He makes her wash his underwear and serve him food, which he catches. She's helpless without him, so succumbs.

He attempts to rape her, but stops, thinking it will be better when she comes to him willingly. They then fall in love, but anyone believing this isn't anything but Stockholm syndrome is someone who enjoys a sick male fantasy.

Swept Away has fueled arguments. Some find it appalling, and wonder how a woman could have made such a misogynistic film. Others say that one must look beyond the male/female aspect, and see it as political--the left versus the right. I get that, but it's still unpleasant to see him bat her around, often viciously. She may get her just desserts but the violence is beyond the pale.

I don't think this film could be made today, not the way it was filmed back then. It was remade with Madonna in 2002, and that was a colossal flop. I think the whole concept has entered into history.