Seduced and Abandoned
Seduced and Abandoned
| 15 July 1964 (USA)
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The film presents the tale of Agnese Ascalone, daughter of prominent miner Vincenzo Ascalone, and takes place in a small town in Sicily. Agnese is seduced by her sister Matilde's fiance, and has a tryst with him for which she confesses and tries to repent, only to be discovered by her mother and father. The film is a dark satire of Sicilian social customs and honor laws, and is very similar to Divorce, Italian Style.

Reviews
ThiefHott Too much of everything
WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.
Seraherrera The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity
Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
petra_ste The title quote is uttered by an hilariously sarcastic police officer as he gazes at a map of Italy and covers Sicily with a hand.The whole movie, another comedic masterpiece by Pietro Germi after Divorzio all'Italiana, is not so much bittersweet as dripping acid: a ferocious satire if ever there was one, tearing apart a traditional, phoney notion of honor.A small Sicilian town: young Agnese is pregnant, and her father, "uomo d'onore" Vincenzo Ascalone, craves revenge against her seducer (the boyfriend of Agnese' sister), with a devastating domino effect involving Agnese's idiot brother, a lawyer cousin, a disgraced baron and many others.Memorable characters, mercilessly funny writing and perfect casting from the leads (Stefania Sandrelli as Agnese and Saro Urzì in a tour-de-force performance as her father) to the smallest roles make this movie a true gem.9/10
MartinHafer Three years before SEDUCED AND ABANDONED, Pietro Germi made the wonderful DIVORCE, Italian STYLE. It was a truly amazing film that poked fun at the machismo of Italian men and posed the silly question "Maybe it's better for a man to kill his wife instead of divorcing her"! Despite the film's popularity, Germi's next film didn't come out until SEDUCED AND ABANDONED in 1964. While it's a very good film, it doesn't seem nearly as original as the last one and could easily have been entitled "Divorce, Italian Style Part 2". That's because the plot once again is about machismo and the notion that a "real man" is most concerned about keeping up appearances--just like in the previous film. Because of that, the film seemed much less fresh and more a continuation of the last movie.SEDUCED AND ABANDONED begins with the troll, Peppino, seducing his fiancée's very young sister, Agnese (aged 15). To make things worse, the girl becomes pregnant. The family is naturally furious and most of what the crazed father is concerned about is what the people in their town will think. So, he decides to concoct a rather elaborate plot to force Peppino into marrying Agnese. The trouble is, Peppino now says he won't marry ANY girl who isn't a virgin--even though HE was the one responsible for this! There's a lot more to the film than this and it is a satire on Italian morality. Very funny and the father (Saro Urzì) did a great job as the befuddled and angry man, but as I said above, it all seems so familiar.Overall, a good film and one I would have enjoyed more had I not seen DIVORCE, Italian STYLE. However, the two films have such a similar spirit and cover so much of the same material, I can only mildly recommend SEDUCED AND ABANDONED.
rabrenner A beautiful sixteen year old girl is seduced by her older sister's fiancée, a conniving would-be bureaucrat. How far will the tradition-bound paterfamilias go to restore the family's lost honor? Well, if you're writer/director Pietro Germi, the answer is pretty darn far—including perjury, kidnapping, murder, and bribing an eccentric baron with a new set of false teeth. Rarely has male hypocrisy and sexual double standards been so thoroughly lampooned. The film walks a fine line between comedy and tragedy, as the more and more traumatized sixteen year old girl is passed back and forth like damaged goods. Shot in beautiful black and white, on location. If you liked MAFIOSO, last year's great Italian rediscovery, you'll like this.
madrig80 It is so rare to watch a funny masterpiece with so many insights! Sicily in the 50's appears obsessed with a twisted concept of honor, or, better, of an impeccable APPARENT reputation. No other movie I have seen is able to give such a vivid idea of the double morality for men and women that ails the "cultura machista". The character I love most in the movie is the extremely naive sister of the protagonist, who lives in her romantic world and does not realize what kind of tragicomic events are happening around her. In a word, truly a masterpiece.
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