Product: Day of the Woman (1978)
Rating: 5.0
Five stars for the Millennium edition, not the film
After all the years of hype and vitriolic reviews from people like Ebert, I finally decided to watch the thing, so I bought this Millennium edition DVD. I did it differently than most: I watched the Joe Bob Briggs commentary first. (It's confusing to find; it's on the menu under "audio setup").Briggs's commentary is humorous, insightful, and at times, brilliant. I really had the feeling that I was watching the film along with him, which was very comforting during the more disturbing scenes, and entertaining during some of the more boring ones. I don't generally go for these types of films, but I think Briggs is an excellent commentator and critic.Most significantly, Briggs doesn't defend the film as some kind of high art. He objectively points out its shortcomings, but also its virtues--many of which would not have been apparent to me if I had simply watched the film without the commentary.The other commentary, by director Meir Zarchi, includes his real-life story of helping a female who had been raped and beaten and how the experience inspired him to make the film. It sounds very altruistic, and I have no doubt that the man is sincere.The question is: Is this a credible piece of filmmaking?I would say that it's a flawed film in some ways and a fearless and groundbreaking film in other ways.If you are focusing more on the formalistic aspects of filmmaking, you will find some surprisingly good scenes and camera work, but other scenes linger too long and could have used some editing.Acting-wise, Camille Keaton knocks herself out in this film. Briggs observes that the entire film is "external"; there is virtually no insight into the minds of the characters--it's almost like watching a documentary, it's so dispassionate and objective. That makes her job all the more difficult.As to the content: Briggs comments intelligently on the feminist aspect. The film is shot, as he clearly demonstrates, from the female's point of view, and it in no way glorifies rape or makes any attempt to portray it as something erotic. Indeed, it made me flinch and turn away several times.From a feminist standpoint, there is a lot of meaningful symbolism here. The revenge scenes are every bit as appalling as the rape scenes, but I have to admit that I was glad to see the bad guys get their comeuppance.In other words, I became emotionally involved in the story. Hmmmm.....isn't that the mark of a credible film?It may not be great cinema, but I don't the film deserves the near-unanimous dismissal as a piece of exploitative trash that it has been given by the critics. I think Zarchi was making a point about male domination of females, and he wanted to make it as graphic as possible.Man have argued that this film is just gratuitous sensatonalism. Well, maybe it is, in many aspects; directors want their films to make money, and they will go to any length to get attention. Yet somehow, this film makes a socio-sexual point that's worth considering.This is the most disturbing film I have ever seen. I don't think being disturbed is a legitimate reason to watch a film. I'm not recommending it; I'm just saying that it does what it intends.