Product: Day of the Woman (1978)
Rating: 4.0
What's the Possible Future
I Spit on Your Grave (1978 release) - is a movie that runs the gamut of viewer reaction. It runs all the way from exploitive trash to great female empowerment movie. I don't understand either of the extremes. It is a very disturbing movie, but how do you make a movie about rape that both depicts it & calls the motivations of every participant into question without being disturbing, even disgusting. Most films refuse to portray rape in all its vile violent nature. That can't be said of this movie, although there is no penetration shown in this one.The set up is common enough, a writer of short stories leaves New York for the country & a summer house on a river to write her first novel. She's a typical New York gal, modern, unassuming, fun loving & a more than a little nave about her safety. She meets a gas station attendant & is seen by two of his cohorts. They are of course bored by the lack of activity & interested in this fresh addition to their neighborhood. There's a man with a child-like mind involved playing a grocery delivery boy too.They all know each other & undercover of providing their man-child a way of getting rid of his virginity they take advantage of her solitude on the river to repeatedly sexually assault her. A warning here as these scenes are violently graphic & sexual, even by today's standards.The movie continues with the girl's reaction to the extreme violence & her choices between reporting them, acting as if it didn't happen or seeking revenge. She chooses the latter & it is as violent as the assault on her. I'm trying to avoid using many spoilers here but once again a psychologically disturbing & violent ending is in store. I'm surprised this film doesn't cause a lot of discussion about the effects of rape on the perpetrators, the victim, the vengeance, the role that law should play & especially about what this girls future life is going to be like. Perhaps it does that in a film class. It's a low budget show but the photography is OK & the acting is dead on. Perhaps the make-up department could have done better on the wounds but they are good enough for this show, like I said, limited budget.The story here is a portrayal of what rape is really like & it's there on screen. If it makes you squeamish that's because it should. It's a vile & violent crime that was ignored for centuries; all the motivations of those that defend rapists are also depicted here. There's little held back. You have to move into porn to get a more realistic image of rape. Due to those reason's I feel it was a good idea to make the movie. It's definitely not a good idea to watch it repeatedly as there is no reason to. You won't forget what you see. I've seen it twice in over 30 years & the second viewing didn't change my memories of what happened.You will not see a slick Hollywood production number here but you will see through the eyes of the victim the dirt, mud, blood & desperation of a victim. You're reaction to the ending may run from disgust to elation or concern. That was my reaction, concern. What future is there available at the end of this extremely graphic tale? That alone should cause some discussion.