Wertmuller's scenario begins aboard a sloop chartered for a month-long Mediterranean cruise by a klatch of wealthy vacationers. The political posturing of these pompous and wealthy intellectuals and their pampered women are particularly grating to the scruffy seaman Gennarino Carunchio (Giancarlo Giannini), a poor local and avowed Communist who quickly becomes bitterly sorry that he ever signed on to this particular voyage. Gennarino's simmering resentment of the upper class isn't lost on the junket's paying customer, the sleek, beautiful, opinionated and archly conservative Raffaela Lanzetti (Mariangelo Melato), who lets no opportunity pass to tartly goad the silently stewing socialist sailor.
However, social change comes a-brewing on an afternoon when the late-rising Raffaela demands a rendezvous with the rest of her party, who've been shuttled off for cave-diving, and Gennarino is called upon to pilot the dinghy. With thanks to an outboard motor failure, the pair wind up adrift for days, with Gennarino exerting all his will to remain civil in the face of his charge's incessant carping. When a deserted atoll appears on the horizon, they paddle for it; once upon dry land, Gennarino finally explodes at the nagging Rafaella, letting her know she's on her own.
While Gennarino has no trouble hunting and cooking his own meals, Raffaela's survival skills are amusingly deficient; while she ultimately tries to bribe, and then beg, for sustenance, the sailor begins to relish his control of the supply lines. If his haughty ex-employer wants to eat, he reasons, she's going to have to do his menial labor. With the tables turned, Gennario revels in his newfound power, culminating in a brutally comic sequence where he slaps Raffaella around a sand dune, proclaiming vengeance for every social ill visited upon Italy's poor. The drained socialite ultimately submits to his dominance, socially and sexually. While their existence ultimately settles into idyll, it is Gennarino who flags down a passing ship, needing to know if their newfound relationship would weather a return to their old lives.
This politically loaded pas de deux needed strong and sympatico efforts in the central roles, and Wertmuller's leads didn't disappoint. The sleepy-eyed Giannini, front and center as always in the director's signature projects, is never anything but compelling as the coarse and resentful prole, projecting moments of telling moments of vulnerability when Gennarino finally gets to savor his day. The gorgeous Melato was on top of her game as well, exhibiting skill and sensitivity as her character's smug rich-bitch veneer slowly sloughs off.
The mastering job on Swept Away is possibly the finest it's ever had of its various incarnations on home video; the colors of the lush seascapes captured by cinematographer Ennio Guarnieri truly pop. The aspect ratio is 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, and multiple soundtrack options of mono, 2.0 stereo, and 5.1 surround are offered. As the five-film set's supplemental materials are contained on a separate disc, there are no other extras beyond trailers for other Koch Lorber offerings.
For more information about The Lina Wertmuller Collection, visit Koch Lorber.
by Jay S. Steinberg
