Submission (1977)

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

It's been many years since I saw " Scandalo ", twice in one week in 1977 in a Sydney art house cinema where it ran for many weeks. Not big audiences but obviously one of those word-of-mouth movies that needs time to attract audiences. I don't recall the political or philosophical content but what stays vivid is the daring performance of Lisa Gastoni and her completely naked walk at night in the village. Brave stuff and very erotic. The music and photography were the other aspects I remember vividly, the crazily inventive movement and lighting of the great Vittorio Storaro and a music score that was equally atmospheric and memorable.

Yes, this movie is very sexy, but unlike 9 1/2 Weeks to which it has been compared, this one has real depth. The sexually charged submission is meant not merely for titillation, but also to underscore the connection between violence and submission. The fact that the movie is set in France during the opening years of WWII is not coincidental. Yes, it's fair game to an extent to refer to the French as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" but as this movie shows, there are two sides to submitting to another's will.The movie examines how the French and so many others could so easily give away their freedom and perhaps even come to enjoy it on a certain level. Look around you today: Polls show that a staggering majority of Americans are still willing and eager to give up certain rights in freedom and privacy in exchange for the promise of security and protection. This movie, and when I saw it was under the title "Submission" takes that frightening concept to its logical, or perhaps illogical, extreme. Would any of us walk naked down a street if an employee ordered us to? Yes, we would, provided we were getting something in return.In the movie, the shopowner is outwardly forceful, even intimidating, to most people. Beneath that lies a deep sense of wanting to be taken care of. Watch this movie at first for the truly erotic qualities, but then watch it again with an eye toward its deeper levels of meaning. That it can be enjoyed as a particularly perverse soft-core sex flick and also as one of the most subversive political statements made on film during the 70s is a testament to its power.

This is perhaps the sexist movie I have ever seen, not only because of the truly believable performance of the beautiful Lisa Gastoni, but also because of the movie's undercurrents of tension between submission and control, and between explicit and implicit sexuality. The 1940 setting creates an atmosphere of tension; the professor-husband's indifference adds realism; and Eliane's descent into complete emotioanl and sexual submission--as evidenced so exquisitely by her midnight walk outside the pharmacy--throbs with excitement. Although originally titled Scandal, the title Submission is more fitting, since it captures the film's ironic portrayal of a strong woman's submission not only to her lover but also to her fate as wife and mother. It's a shame that this gem is not available on DVD or video.

Not the best movie ever, but for it being set just before the invasion of France in 1940, it has the style and moments to keep your attention. If nudity and sexual content offend you, do not watch this movie. Lisa Gastoni shows you that nudity can be as beautiful as art!