Cinema
Swept Away
Travolti da un insolito destino nell'azzurro mare d'agosto
Lina Wertmüller · 1974
Synopsis
A summer cruise in the Mediterranean, off Sardinia. Raffaella, a haughty rich bourgeoise who despises the left, relentlessly bullies Gennarino, a sailor on the yacht and a communist, who puts up with her whims. One day, alone together on a small boat, they suffer an engine failure and drift to a deserted island, where the balance of power between them begins to reverse.
Context
Mariangela Melato and Giancarlo Giannini play the two roles. The Cinémathèque française sees in it a fable about class struggle and the war of the sexes: on the island, the places that society had assigned to the two characters are reversed. The director wanted it, in her own words, to be at once grotesque, satirical, erotic, romantic, political, sentimental and bitter. The film was restored and re-released in French cinemas in 2017.
Who it is for
A comedy of a little under two hours, caustic and provocative, whose relations of domination may shock.
Prizes and reception
Best foreign film of 1975 for the National Board of Review; probably the greatest commercial success of its director.
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