A tragic farce set during the horrors of World War II, Seven Beauties (1975) is one of the most famous and acclaimed films from Italian director Lina Wertmüller, who made her reputation with energetic, brassy social satires featuring male protagonists full of macho swagger and sexist attitudes who collide with manipulative, often unpleasant female characters. Giancarlo Giannini stars as Pasqualino, a petty thief and opportunist who murders the pimp that puts one of his seven sisters in a brothel. It's a matter of honor, although his cowardice and drive to survive soon trump any noble quality. He's sent to an insane asylum, then to the frontlines of the war (where he deserts from the army), and finally ends up in a German concentration camp run by a sadistic, obese female commandant (Shirley Stoler). He seduces her to curry favor (a comically unerotic scene) and she decides to see just how far he will debase himself to survive. It's a grotesque film, both visually and thematically, with a mordant sense of humor and bold visual style. In its cruel portrait of degradation, it offers Wertmüller's most cynical statement on the worst instincts of mankind. Seven Beauties earned both rave reviews and sharp criticism for its mix of slapstick humor and horrific situations and was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Director (the first ever nomination for a woman). It remains one of Wertmüller's most notorious films. Extras include an excerpt from the 2015 biographical documentary on Wertmüller Behind the White Glasses, an interview with director Amy Heckerling, and a booklet with essays. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)
Seven Beauties
Kino Lorber, 116 min., in Italian w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $19.99, Blu-ray: $29.99 Volume 33, Issue 2
Seven Beauties
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