Seduced and Abandoned

In Sicily, the fifteen year-old Agnese Ascalone (Stefania Sandrelli) is seduced by the youngster Peppino Califano (Aldo Puglisi), who is the fiancé of her older sister Matilde (Paola Biggio). When her father, Don Vincenzo Ascalone (Saro Urzì), discovers that Agnese is not pure anymore and is pregnant of Peppino, he visits his parents to arrange the marriage between Peppino and Agnese. Further, he makes arrangement with the decadent Baron Rizieri Zappalà (Leopoldo Trieste) to be Matilde's new fiancé. But Peppino refuses to marry Agnese and flees to a hideout in a convent. Don Ascalone seeks out his cousin that is a lawyer and they plot a scheme to kill Peppino. Don Ascalone sends his stupid son Antonio Ascalone (Lando Buzzanca) to gun down Peppino, but Agnese leaves home and tells the Police Chief Polenza (Oreste Palella) that Peppino will be murdered because she had been seduced by him. Now Peppino must marry Agnese otherwise he will go to prison. But Agnese does not want to marry him anymore.

"Sedotta e Abbandonata", a.k.a. "Seduced and Abandoned", is a tragicomic comedy about honor and family in Sicily. The Sicilians probably do not like this bitter movie since the story shows a hypocrite and retrograde society in the 60's, with gossipers and people interested in keep up appearances despite the feelings of the next of kin. Unfortunately the conclusion is quite disappointing. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Seduzida & Abandonada" ("Seduced and Abandoned")

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.

A beautiful sixteen year old girl is seduced by her older sister's fiancée, a conniving would-be bureaucrat. How far will the tradition-bound paterfamilias go to restore the family's lost honor? Well, if you're writer/director Pietro Germi, the answer is pretty darn far—including perjury, kidnapping, murder, and bribing an eccentric baron with a new set of false teeth. Rarely has male hypocrisy and sexual double standards been so thoroughly lampooned. The film walks a fine line between comedy and tragedy, as the more and more traumatized sixteen year old girl is passed back and forth like damaged goods. Shot in beautiful black and white, on location. If you liked MAFIOSO, last year's great Italian rediscovery, you'll like this.

Granted, it's not as polished or swanky as "Divorce". No dashing Marcello, no Sophia's curves. Perhaps it dabs in paint too close to that of his more famous predecessor. Yet, what delightful film! The comedy of manners and mores can rarely get any better. And then the cutting, darker, a bit menacing undertones that reveal that fascinating Sicilia of times now lost forever: wow! I love both of Germi's gems but if I could take only one with me it would be "Sedotta e abbandonata". I also marvel at how well Germi, himself un Genovese, understood the very heart and soul of that lovely island off the boot of Italy. Almost perfect: who cares for perfection anyway?

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.