"Seven Beauties" has a strange rhythm that it might take some viewers a while to settle into. It reminded me at times of the 1997 film "Life Is Beautiful" in its attempt to juxtapose the darkly comic to the stark horror of Nazi work camps, but the comparison really just highlights how superior Lina Wertmuller's 1976 film is to Robert Benigni's bit of sentimental hokum in just about every conceivable way. After Benigni inflicted his movie on us, I figured trying to find humor in such terrible subject matter was just a mistake, and that anyone would fail in the attempt. But Wertmuller proves that it's possible after all, and the comedy makes the horror that much more horrifying.
Wertmuller became the first woman ever nominated for a Best Director Academy Award, and the film received additional nominations for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Actor (Giancarlo Giannini), and Best Original Screenplay. Though it didn't win anything, with a set of nominations like that one assumes it had to be close to making the cut in the Best Picture race that year (1976), a year that saw "Rocky" ultimately win the top prize. How's that for cinematic schizophrenia?
Grade: A+
Wertmuller became the first woman ever nominated for a Best Director Academy Award, and the film received additional nominations for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Actor (Giancarlo Giannini), and Best Original Screenplay. Though it didn't win anything, with a set of nominations like that one assumes it had to be close to making the cut in the Best Picture race that year (1976), a year that saw "Rocky" ultimately win the top prize. How's that for cinematic schizophrenia?
Grade: A+