Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
: ''La matriarca'', lit. "The matriarch") is a 1968 Italian film directed by
Pasquale Festa Campanile
Pasquale Festa Campanile (28 July 1927 – 25 February 1986) was an Italian screenwriter, film director and novelist, best known as a prominent exponent of the commedia all'italiana genre.
Life and career
Born at Melfi, in the province ...
.
Plot
This is a
sex comedy
Sex comedy, erotic comedy or more broadly sexual comedy is a genre in which comedy is motivated by sexual situations and love affairs. Although "sex comedy" is primarily a description of dramatic forms such as theatre and film, literary works such ...
film about Mimi ( Catherine Spaak), a young widow who discovers that her recently deceased husband kept a secret apartment for his kinky desires. Frustrated that he did not explore his sexual fantasies with her, she embarks on a quest to understand perversion and sexuality. She uses her late husband's apartment to seduce various men, each time learning more about the depths of human depravation, as well as the extent of the sexual double standard for women (late in the film, she states, "I notice men only call me a whore when I say no. Or stop saying yes.")
Finally, she meets the man who shares himself fully with her, appreciates her sexual daring and accepts her for whoever she is.
Jean-Louis Trintignant
Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-war era. He starred in many classic fi ...
as Dr. Carlo De Marchi
*
Gigi Proietti
Luigi "Gigi" Proietti (2 November 1940 – 2 November 2020) was an Italian actor, voice actor, comedian, musician, singer and television presenter.
Early life
He was born in Rome to Romano Proietti, originally from Umbria, and Giovanna Ceci, a ...
as Sandro Maldini
*
Luigi Pistilli
Luigi Pistilli (19 July 192921 April 1996) was an Italian actor of stage, screen, and television.
At one time Pistilli was one of Italy's most respected actors of stage, screen, and television. In theater, he was considered one of the country's ...
as Otto Frank, aka Mr. X
*
Renzo Montagnani
Renzo Montagnani (September 11, 1930 – May 22, 1997) was an Italian actor and voice actor.
Biography
Montagnani was born in Alessandria, Piedmont, and debuted as theatre actor thanks to the help of Erminio Macario. His first cinema succe ...
as Fabrizio
*
Fabienne Dali
Fabienne Dali (born Marie-Louise De Vos; 22 September 1941) is a Belgian actress. She appeared in more than fifteen films from 1960 to 1969.
Selected filmography
References
External links
*
1941 births
Living people
Belgian film ac ...
Vittorio Caprioli
Vittorio Caprioli (15 August 1921 – 2 October 1989) was an Italian actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in 109 films between 1946 and 1990, mostly in French productions.
Biography
Caprioli was born in Naples. Having graduated fr ...
Edda Ferronao
Edda Ferronao is an Italian former stage, film and television actress.Bayman p. 241
Selected filmography
* ''March's Child'' (1957)
* '' Toto, Peppino and the Fanatics'' (1958)
* ''The Conqueror of the Orient'' (1960)
* ''Fountain of Trevi' ...
as Maria
*
Paolo Stoppa
Paolo Stoppa Knight Grand Cross (6 June 1906 – 1 May 1988) was an Italian actor.
Biography
Born in Rome, he began as a stage actor in 1927 in the theater in Rome and began acting in films in 1932. As a stage actor, his most celebrated ...
as Professor Zauri
* Philippe Leroy as The Tennis Instructor
*
Venantino Venantini
Venantino Venantini (17 April 1930 – 9 October 2018) was an Italian film actor.Gabriele Tinti as The Man in the Car
Reception
The ''New York Times'' said the film was "not nearly as clever, sophisticated and amusing as it archly pretends." The ''Guardian'' called it "pseudo-sophisticated, so fake as to be positively sick making and, what is more, thoroughly unerotic." The ''Washington Post'' complained "the film's own attitudes are far too conventional". The ''Los Angeles Times'' thought the movie was "at times... pretty hot stuff... has a little more style and wit than most Radley Metzger releases." The ''Chicago Tribune'' thought the film was "more clumsy than clever... just as unimaginative as the film it attempts to parody."
See also
*
Sadism and masochism in fiction
The role of sadism and masochism in fiction has attracted serious scholarly attention. Anthony Storr has commented that the volume of sadomasochist pornography shows that sadomasochistic interest is widespread in Western society; John Kucich has n ...