Product: Day of the Woman (1978)
Rating: 5.0
Powerful
I plan on never watching this film again. So why did I give it 5 stars? Well, art can perform more than one function. It can be used to entertain, but that isn't its only purpose. Art can also be used to get across a message or hold a mirror up to society. Unfortunately, while serious books and art can treat horrible subjects with great frankness and without entertaining and still receive great praise, movies are stereotypically seen as more of an entertainment medium, so when a movie comes along that doesn't even try to be entertaining, people don't know how to react.This movie is not in the least bit entertaining. In fact, watching it is a rather horrible experience, but it should be. Any movie that pretends to treat the subject of rape seriously should be discomforting. This movie has one of the most powerful depictions of rape I have ever seen. Other major hollywood films that have tackled the subject of rape, like the one starring Jodie Foster (I forget its name), are lauded for their powerful depictions of rape, but when a more effective, low-budget depiction like this one comes along, one that gets across the horror of the act far more powerfully, it gets dismissed as exploitation.Sure, the cover art is rather exploitative and seems to be geared towards attracting viewers looking for sexual thrills, and the same goes for the trailer, but the film itself is not one bit as exploitative as, say, the Deliverance. It is an excellent depiction of the brutality of rape, the sexual immaturity of rapists, the cowardly nature of the act, and the fact that it is an act committed by those who usually feel powerless in everyday life. The lead female, while staying at a remote cottage in order to write a novel, is gang raped and left for dead. She starts trying to rebuild her life (her taping together of her torn up manuscript is an excellent symbolism for this), but is then discovered to still be alive by her rapists. She then kills off the rapists one by one. Perhaps not the most admirable of choices (although they did try to murder her), but the manner in which she kills each of them, playing off of their psychological weaknesses, brilliantly makes a point about the pathetic nature of rapists.All praise aside, it IS a disturbing movie to watch and one I hope nobody will find entertaining, and as a result I don't plan on watching it again. Once is enough. But that makes this great art.