Dalbert Pringle In John Waters' 1972 comedy "Pink Flamingos", it was character Babs Johnson who, for obvious reasons, earned the title of being "The Filthiest Person Alive".Well, here in Lina Wertmuller's 1975 comedy "7 Beauties", it was character Pasqualino who, from my perspective, easily deserved a shot at the title of "Filthiest Person Alive".OK. Let's see - From raping a mental patient helplessly tied down to a bed, to deserting his own country in wartime and collaborating with the Nazis, to frequently abusing women, both physically & verbally, to turning his own comrades over to the Gestapo (who, in turn, assassinated them) to save his own skin - I'd definitely say that slime-bucket Pasqualino was even filthier and more immoral than was the likes of Babs Johnson.Not only was Pasqualino one of the filthiest, most low-down buggers imaginable, but this self-righteous, hypocritical crybaby was also something of an annoying scenery-chewer, as well.With all of the despicable behaviour that came out of this horrid Pasqualino character, I can't believe that 7 Beauties was actually billed as a comedy. I personally rank Pasqualino as one of the most sickening & repulsive characters in all of movie, make-believe history.The only reason why I rated 7 Beauties with 4 stars was due to some of its very striking imagery and its impressive camera-work. Other than that this disappointing Lina Wertmuller production was a real "mess-terpiece", in the truest sense of the word.

fred-houpt I watched this film just recently all the way through, having watched just a part of it years before. I kept thinking of "Life is beautiful" and how upset I was with that film. By upset I mean disgusted with the premise. I could not imagine what that film wanted me to. Seven Beauties goes back to the exact same landscape and arrives at a completely different portrayal.I must confess that I consider Giancarlo Giannini to be one of the greatest actors ever to appear on film in any language. His style is different than say Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro or Jack Nicholson. With Giannini what always blows me away is what he can do with his eyes and simple facial gestures. Take for example the scene where in this film he is in court awaiting the sentence for murder. His eyes catches those of a young woman he had met in the street and with whom he does a light hearted bit of flirting. Their eyes meet and entire paragraphs of dialog go back and forth between them and not a word is spoken. I was just dumbfounded. Who acts this way anymore? Just about no one. His style often reminds me of the silent greats like Chaplin (in particular) who had to emote through their faces because the audience could not hear them speak.What is this film about? Is it just an anti-Nazi rant? Not really. Wertmuller at her best, had a full palette of dramatic colors splashing about and this is perhaps her best movie. Pasqualino Frafuso as a character is both hilarious, a complete puff-ball of inflated over confidence, a sole defender of his down and out family's honor and much more. As a bumbling tough-guy-wannabe, he manages to get himself into an insane asylum; perhaps the central motif of the entire movie. He moves from one insane chapter into another. (Major spoiler)...as a survivor, we are not sure what state of mind or soul he is in when he comes back to his family.There is a key element of the dialog mirroring the directors social ethos. When Pasqualino and another Italian soldier witness German soldiers killing (what they presume) are Jews and dumping their bodies into mass graves) and in fleeing the scene the other soldier is gripped with a terrible sense of guilt...we must take note of a key message. Should we turn away when gross injustice is done to our common man or should we protect ourselves with the certainty of silence? The concentration camp scenes are very harrowing but what is incredible in this film is that despite the utterly bleak reality, we can laugh a just a little bit. It is a macabre humor, very black and teetering on a dream like quality. I am reminded of some scenes in Fellini's "Satyricon".The German commandant is a woman (most unlikely in real life) and is depicted in an over the top portrayal of life hating, totally unattractive female, who is all too aware that her war is going to wind down and she is on the loosing side. She absolutely hates the Italians she has to incarcerate and she barbarically enjoys killing them at random. That Pasqualino decides that he can seduce her is both comical and very sad at the same time. That he succeeds is beyond his or our own vivid imagination. The one thing he knew for sure was that as a very unattractive woman she most certainly was starved for sexual gratification, even if it must come from someone she hated and loathed. That is the deal with the devil he plays in order to eat and survive. Did he sell his soul to the dark side at this point? We do not get a clear answer and that is another strength in the drama. Wertmuller is telling us that there is always much more gray than colored outlines when we look to define moral limitations, and the choices made under enormous duress. What would we do to survive such hell? Are we so sure we would not lower ourselves to ANY level in order to survive? Many did and that is her point. We are not encouraged to take sides and judge. We are reminded that life sometimes takes over and we are washed away in currents much stronger than our simple moral and ethical compass we felt so sure of as a younger person.Ultimately this film satisfies as a monumental drama on so many levels. Pasqualino's sisters and mother (as actors) are outstanding, especially the eldest sister, who is made to look more ugly than ugly. The struggle to find a place in life with the burden of such horrid looks is held up in a severe way; however, we are also aware that it is over done and very exaggerated. Like some fulsome opera drama, her struggle to find safety, financial freedom and social esteem mirror the struggles of millions of others in the lower, working classes. A very familiar theme in Italian cinema. That her brother, another who felt himself to be an ugly duckling, manages to reach his own level of self-sufficiency, at the cost of hell on earth, ties a very nice parallel to her own travails. A family touched by tragedy on many levels, they miraculously survive the war intact.Seven Beauties is worth many viewings. A richly textured, very well written drama of very intense contrasts, a perfect vehicle for outstanding acting at both comedic and dramatic heights. One of the best films I've ever seen. My personal favorite of Giannini's, equal to or even surpassing his performance in Swept Away. Perhaps Wertmullers most coherent social commentary/drama masterpiece.

ackstasis Giancarlo Giannini is an actor whose performances I've always enjoyed, and he first came to my attention as Renaldo Pazzi in the startlingly-underrated 'Hannibal,' in which he nonetheless managed to outshine the likes of Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore and Gary Oldman. My search for more of his excellent roles led me all the way back to 1975, in Lina Wertmüller's powerful Holocaust drama/comedy, 'Pasqualino Settebellezze {Seven Beauties}.' Surprisingly, for a foreign title, the film proved quite successful at the 1977 Academy Awards, receiving nominations for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Director (the first such nomination for a female director), a well-deserved Best Actor (Giannini) and Best Original Screenplay.The film follows the exploits of Pasqualino Frafuso, a proud young man from a poor, rather unattractive family. Over the course of his life, Pasqualino has gained a certain level of respect in his home city of Naples. Whilst not particularly brave or dangerous, he possesses enough confidence to convince others that he is, and few people bother him. He carries around a gun for intimidation purposes, but doesn't really know how to use it properly. Thus, despite his less-than-good looks, Pasqualino considers himself a great success, and refuses to allow anybody to tarnish the great reputation that he has garnered himself. When one of his seven sisters becomes a prostitute to make ends meet, he responds violently, his reaction resulting in murder. In order to minimise his punishment, Pasqualino abandons his morals and feigns insanity, before enlisting in the defence force to escape the debilitating mental institution.All his own life, Pasqualino has treasured his sense of pride, but, when faced with death, he finds himself becoming… not quite a coward, but something akin to one. He deteriorates into a pathetic, grovelling, low-life creature, his will to survive outweighing his former notions of respect and family honour. It is not, in any way, a heroic bid for survival; it is painful to watch; we are repulsed; we pity him for the lengths he has gone to. When ordered to randomly select six young members of his own people to be executed, he does so. He puts a bullet in his own friend because he is told to. There are no heroes here; only the raw, brutal facts of reality.'Seven Beauties,' peculiarly for films of its subject matter, is a mixture of comedy and drama, and this gave rise to some of its biggest flaws. At numerous points, the film seems unsure of exactly what it wants to be: the bright, funny sequences are funny; the dark, dramatic sequences are certainly dramatic. However, the two extremes can't seem to comfortably co-exist on the screen, as you'd imagine when dealing with events of this sort. As much as my opinion is destined to be an unpopular one, I thought that Roberto Benigni's 'La Vita è bella {Life is Beautiful} (1997)' did a better job of using comedy to make the events of the Holocaust seem even more tragic.Another point that shouldn't affect my enjoyment of the film – but does – is the fact that 'Seven Beauties' features a selection of the most repulsive women, both morally and visually, in the history of cinema. Giannini, despite referring to himself as ugly at one point, stands as a shining beacon of handsomeness among this crowd, which is not necessarily a compliment. I realise that this was probably a requirement for the film itself to work, but that doesn't make it any easier to look at the television screen. After watching 'Seven Beauties' for the first time, I find myself satisfied, but ultimately feeling as though it has been done better.

vernoncoffee Lena Wertmuller has created a fascinating cocktail, one part anti-war film, one part medieval morality play, one part black comedy, shaken vigorously and poured over plenty of fine acting.If growing up in Fascist Italy doesn't give a young boy a slightly distorted sense of manhood, having your bricklayer father die leaving you the sole male in a family of a mother and seven sisters, made sure of the fact; so we find Pascolino, a handsome but strutting ladies' man who carries a pistol in his belt to "command respect." And so begins a roller coaster of events both comic and tragic that deliver him like so many other young men, into the maw of WW2, completely unprepared to cope with the stupidity and inefficiency of large governments at war, the contempt for both the sacred and the profane, the massacre of civilians unlucky enough to be in the way, the destructions of villages, towns, even entire cities, in short these young men are overwhelmed by the evil that is created from both sides of every war as surely and repetitively as an ocean beach is overwhelmed by the incoming tides.Seven Beauties makes its anti-war thrust accessible like another more famous film, Catch-22, by blurring it's humor into the absurd. When Wertmuller shows us the vapidness of Pascolino's life as he struts around the family business or ghoulishly dismembering a body he killed, I think she is taking a more profound view of human existence than just an anti-war film, by showing us the inconsistencies, follies, and sin that inhabit everyday life, might even be the building blocks of national wars. Pascolino's supposed credo is respect, yet where is the respect in defending your sister's honor, if she is in love with her pimp; of challenging the pimp mano a mano, only to kill him by accident ; of volunteering to fight for his country, as a way to escape from a psychiatric ward; of shooting your friend, to save your own life; of finally returning home from defending your country, to find your seven sisters have become prostitutes? The inevitable question becomes, what is there to respect? Even the representative of authority and control, the prison camp commandant, is swept away by the follies of her own system and the temptations of power, while Pascolino is an Everyman, demonstrating the inevitable folly humankind falls into trying to live apart from God.