Product: Day of the Woman (1978)
Rating: 4.0
Unappreciated Cinematic Gem
I can see why this film was scorned back in the 70's. It is hard to sit down and watch this film without wondering if there is something wrong with you. The rape scenes are long, brutal, and unrelenting. What makes this film so tough to watch is the fact that the actress is raped not once, twice, three, or four, but five times! Worse, the rape scenes make up the bulk of the movie, so basically you're watching a woman being raped at length for what seems like most of the film's running time. Infamously, Roger Ebert was moved to call this film "vile garbage"!Still, the film is brilliant in that it clearly uses shock to show how terrible rape is and how a woman suffers during the ordeal. But that's only part of the story. This is a rape-revenge movie. So after the rape, comes the revenge. Most of the women who have championed this movie have praised the revenge section of the film. Most men seem to hate the actress for taking her revenge to the umpteenth degree. "Violence definitely breeds more violence" as the saying goes. And this film is very, very violent. This is not family friendly entertainment!I personally think this film does have a positive message and that message is: if a man takes away a woman's right to control what happens to her body, he could end up having a very bad day.