Film: “Swept Away” (1974) directed by Lina Wertmuller

Among the first things you notice about Gennarino (Giancarlo Giannini), the crew member in “Swept Away” (1974), are his eyes. Comical, sad, puppy-dog, angry—they telegraph what he is thinking more than any dialogue could.

And what he is thinking is that he’d like to muffle Raffaella, the arrogant rich-b*tch (Mariangela Melato) who’s hired a yacht to take her and her wealthy friends sailing in the Mediterranean. While she mindlessly rants about left-wing Communists and “dirty smelly Southern Italians,” he is fuming below deck.

One late afternoon, she orders Gennarino to take her out in a speedboat. As the winds are picking up, he advises her to turn around and avoid catastrophe, but she won’t hear of it. The motor sputters, the tide carries them further out to sea, and they are hopelessly lost.

But hark! What sight appears on yonder vista? Seems the speedboat has washed up on a small atoll far from

civilization. Once on the island Raffaella starts to boss Gennaro around but he starts pushing back. If she wants to eat, he tells her, she has to lift more than a well-manicured finger. This leads to knock-down drag-out battles and finally a total reversal of roles—and eventually a love affair.

Director Lina Wertmuller is aiming for a story of class struggle here: the leftist, rugged Male Chauvinist Pig vs the uber-right-wing wealthy lady. By freeing the characters from the usual master-servant dynamic created by capitalism, Wertmuller posits, Raffaela is free to love Gennarino, and vice versa. This leads to some of the sexiest man-woman encounters since Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren.

Never has Giannini looked so utterly appealing and behaved so utterly appalling as in this film. And while his character may adhere to an “all men are equal” Communist sensibility, this movie shows that whether you’re a leftie or right wing, the thrill of being in charge, as he is on the island, is irresistible.

“Swept Away” won the best foreign film Oscar in 1974. Guy Ritchie’s 2002 remake starring Madonna and Gianni’s son was a critical and commercial failure. Meanwhile Giannini Senior is still alive and kicking at 81–as bright-eyed as ever. The film in its 4k restoration is playing at Film Forum NYC through early February. Buon divertimento.

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