Seduced and Abandoned (1964)

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Agnese. No wonder the wedding ring would not go on her finger. Her fingers were swollen from enlarged tissues due to her pregnancy. Nowadays, Peppino could get her a stretch-band ring, albeit from the discount store, lol. Vincenzo. Reminds one of S. Berlusconi -- rotund, blow-hard, bragging, obnoxious, thinks he is handsome and charming. Baron. Goofy, bad hair and teeth, stupid, broke, bungles his own hanging several times. Matilde. Cutting off hair to marry Mother Church. Any normal mother would like their daughters to have nice hairstyles, but of course with Mother Church the hair 'i capelli' had to be hidden behind those heavy veils.Women in black. Mourning forever? Mourning that they had no rights nor respect? Vincenzo in white 'bianco', perfect for hot summer days, but mamas in 'nero' would surely swelter in the sun. Vincenzo swaggering and leader of the pack, while traditional women have to be victims, have no birth control, and spend their lives in those days washing clothes by hand outside and hanging them up on the line to dry. Women home-caretakers; men spewing out sex and violence and mafia-esque orders to kill enemies and those who mess with stupid oldtime dumb honor codes.Divorce I think became legal later in Italy than in the time frame of this film. Of course, Mother Church was not happy. Birth control may be readily available now there, too, so today's Agneses would not have to be bothered by 'getting knocked up' especially by someone else's main squeeze. Mother Church always wanted more parishioners, for moolah to be put into those coffers. Birth control cuts the number of churchgoers way down.Did the nuns sell Matilde's hair for more cash to put in those coffers?

The Italians are masters at laughing at themselves. I wonder if Iraq had developed that kind of self parody the world wouldn't have turned a much different place. I mention Iraq because, based on the tale told in "Seduced and Abandoned", the only difference between Sicily and Iraq is the name of their God. The great Pietro Germi designs a grotesquely comic masterpiece of such ferocity that the line between comedy and tragedy is indeed very thin. As is typical in a Germi film, the cast is uniformly sensational. Here, besides a very young and extraordinary Stefania Sandrelli, there is a superlative performance by Saro Urzi, the head of the family threatened by a devastating scandal. Ignorance and hypocrisy dissected with a refined, elegant hand. Observed with the acute, unsentimental eye of an outsider and yet, Pietro Germi, was an Italian who looked with affectionate horror at the cultural ties that kept his Country trailing behind the rest of the western world. Not to be missed.

It is so rare to watch a funny masterpiece with so many insights! Sicily in the 50's appears obsessed with a twisted concept of honor, or, better, of an impeccable APPARENT reputation. No other movie I have seen is able to give such a vivid idea of the double morality for men and women that ails the "cultura machista". The character I love most in the movie is the extremely naive sister of the protagonist, who lives in her romantic world and does not realize what kind of tragicomic events are happening around her. In a word, truly a masterpiece.

The late Pietro Germi was one of the most gifted comic directors of the post-50s period. He is the man behind such wonderful movies like DIVORCE, ITALIAN STYLE; ALFREDO ALFREDO; SERAFINO; THE CLIMAX; THE BIRDS, THE BEES, AND THE ITALIANS. This hilarious movie, which may be his very best, is a loving yet deadly satire of Sicilian customs. The dejected heroine Agnese (played by Stefania Sandrelli) is seduced by her sister's fiance while she is chaperoning her snoozing sister during the sultry Sicilian siesta hours. She becomes pregnant and must succumb to a shotgun marriage demanded by her father. Problem: Sicilian seducers do not accept unchaste wives. It does not matter that HE seduced the girl. He has his honor. The father has honor too. This corpulent apoplectic domestic tyrant must also protect his family's "onore". For Verdi's Falstaff honor is a mere word. For this proud Sicilian father it is the foundation of our lives. Saro Urzi's performance as the father must be seen to be believed. Everyone else in the cast of this brilliant film is unforgettable as well. Carlo Rustichelli's musical score, like the one he provided for DIVORCE,ITALIAN STYLE is fabulous.