The Most Beautiful Wife () is a 1970 Italian film directed by Damiano Damiani, based on the 1965 case of Franca Viola, who challenged the still frequent southern Italian custom of kidnapping and raping a prospective bride for refusing to marry her abductor.Flavia Brizio-Skov Popular Italian Cinema: Culture and Politics in a Postwar Society - 2011 -- Page 232 "Another important film discussing sexual violence against women is Damiano Damiani's The Most Beautiful Wife (1970), a socially committed..." It was the debut film for the then 14-year-old Ornella Muti.
Synopsis Francesca is a young peasant girl who has caught the eye of Vito, a promising mafioso. She is initially pleased with the man's attention and the two agree to wed. This bliss is short lived as she soon discovers that he is a violent, jealous, and possessive man that expects complete and abject obedience from her, causing her to rebel against the impending marriage after witnessing a mob killing. Unwilling to lose face, Vito decides to imprison Francesca on a farm, where he rapes her. His goal is to force her into a fuitina or "rehabilitating marriage", as customs dictate that a woman should marry the one who took her virginity, whether the encounter was willing or not.
He releases Francesca shortly after their encounter, and she is forced to attend an engagement dinner party with his relatives and her parents, where the whole experience seems surreal and humiliating for her and her parents. The following day, she tries to seek legal justice. The police is only willing to let her file a report, in the hopes that they might be able to arrest Vito under the pretext of these allegations. She soon discovers that no one is willing to support her. They either fear that Vito will seek revenge as he is the acting head of one of the organized mafia branches and a nephew of an influential mafioso Don Antonio, or believe his lies that Francesca is only causing issues because he refused to marry her after discovering she was a promiscuous woman who lied about being a virgin. Despite this, Francesca perseveres and reports him to the police. The resulting scandal, Vito's attempts at revenge and intimidation, and attempts by her parents to convince her to keep things quiet makes life difficult for Francesca, however in the end she triumphs and Vito is thrown in jail.
Cast
Ornella Muti as Francesca Cimarosa Alessio Orano as Vito Juvara Pierluigi Aprà as Carabinieri Lieutenant Tano Cimarosa as Gaetano Cimarosa Joe Sentieri as Poidomani Amerigo Tot as Don Antonino Stella Enzo Andronico as Vito Juvara's Lawyer
Production Filming took place in Cinisi, Partinico, Trappeto, and also in the ruins of Gibellina and Santa Ninfa. Actress Ornella Muti was brought in to portray Francesca Cimarosa, her film debut.Gian Piero Brunetta The History of Italian Cinema: A Guide to Italian Film from Its... - 2009 -- Page 229 "La moglie piu bella (The Most Beautiful Wife, 1969), Ornella Muti's debut;..."Stephen Gundle Bellissima: Feminine Beauty and the Idea of Italy - 2007 -- Page 194 "As a result, she reflected the opportunities that women now had, as well as the discrimination they faced. In her first film, Damiano Damiani's La moglie più bella (The most beautiful wife) in..." As she was fourteen at the time of filming, the movie was subject to strict film regulation, one of which was no depiction of an on screen rape.
Damiani and the other writers chose to have the script differ in several ways from the real life kidnapping, rape, and prosecution. Scholar Niamh Cullen notes that Francesca's behaviors bore more similarity to feminists of the 60s and 70s, whereas upon rescue the real life Franca had reportedly accepted the impending marriage as a grim and unwanted inevitability. Reactions from the police and her family also differed, as she noted that reporting showed that her family had been very supportive and the police investigation implied no reluctance to prosecute.
Reception DVD Talk reviewed the film favorably, praising the cinematography and the acting of Ornella Muti, comparing her favorably to Brooke Shields in Louis Malle's Pretty Baby, stating that "She carries the role magnificently, especially when battling for her self-respect against heavy odds."
Awards
Grolla d'oro for Best Debut Actress (Ornella Muti, won)
References
External links