Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August (1974)

Directed by Lina Wertmüller. Starring Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato, Riccardo Salvino, Aldo Puglisi, Isa Danieli. [R]

Fearless romantic seriocomedy of gender roles (and, to a lesser degree, radical politics) was controversial upon release, and, if anything, is even more toxic today. The arrogant, spoiled wife (Melato) of a rich man yachting in the Mediterranean ends up trapped on a deserted island with a brutish, leftist deckhand (Giannini), and since this isolated life-or-death scenario obliterates the authority of class and wealth, she is forced to rely on him to survive, and in turn, he degrades her into becoming an abused slave and sex object. The central provocation isn’t so much the thuggish male fantasy aspect, but rather the attitude of Melato, who not only gets off on being dominated, but starts to believe she loves and needs her “oppressor”. It’s the classic dilemma of “depiction does not necessarily mean endorsement”, and having a woman as the writer/director doesn’t help simplify matters, since it would be easier to dismiss as mere chauvinism had it been the brain-child of a man. Although imperfect, to be sure—certain scenes and dialogue exchanges are labored, the political content has no bite anymore, and you can’t always appreciate the scenery when Wertmüller is so fond of closeups, especially when Giannini wears dumbfounded or arrogant expressions—it’s performed with brash gusto by both leads, and there are fascinating (and uncomfortable) themes and ideas to absorb. The final act, although suffering from some of the aforementioned labored qualities, adapts the shifting dynamic even further, splashing cold reality onto the idyllic “paradise” of the fantasy, and is critical to the film achieving the depth needed to escape the scathing indictments of the politically-correct. Sometimes referred to as just Swept Away, which is the title used for the disastrous 2002 remake by Guy Ritchie, with then-wife Madonna and Giannini’s son, Adriano, in the lead roles.

75/100