Screenwriter: Lina Wertmüller

Producer: Arrigo Colombo, Lina Wertmüller

The first film to garner an Oscar nomination for a woman director, Lina Wertmüller’s masterful and provocative concentration camp sex comedy (yes, you read that right) is one of the director’s greatest works; magnificently weaving audaciousness and true human pathos into a masterpiece of world cinema. Wertmüller regular – the incredibly facile Giancarlo Giannini – plays Pasqualino Frafuso, known in Naples as “Pasqualino Seven Beauties,” a petty thief who lives off of the profits of his seven sisters while claiming to protect their honor at any cost. After a series of terrible choices and a stint in Mussolini’s army, he is eventually sent to a concentration camp where he plots to make his escape by seducing a German officer, played by Shirley Stoler (The Honeymoon Killers). Controversial from the jump, and funnier than any film about Nazis has a right to be – with absurdity at every corner along with staggering human truths – and stunning production design by Enrico Job, it’s the perfect time to rediscover this treasure of Italian cinema from one of the world’s greatest overlooked directors.

Picks from the Video Store:

Need more Lina? We’ve got a whole Lina Wertmüller director’s section with all of her most provocative films!

The Seduction of Mimi, Love and Anarchy, Summer Night

Accessibility Options: Amplified Audio, please see the box office for devices.