David Traversa I don't have the necessary English vocabulary to praise this jewel of a film. But no matter how wide the knowledge of a language can be, one will always fall short when praising this remarkable creation.Simply amazing: Director (Pietro Germi), actors, camera, script... Perfection, absolute perfection. Every single situation is played with amazing vitality and bubbling gags are practically in every scene in this bittersweet story.One hopes Sicilians have changed their "morals" from the 1950s to today, because nowadays the conflict depicted here seems unreal and preposterous: A guy (Peppino Califano) refuses to marry the girl (Stefania Sandrelli) (15 going to 16) because, "since she gave in to his sexual advances", now she's considered a "Puttana" and men require to marry virgins, otherwise he'll be the laughing stock in the village (a Cornuto).The central character of the story is the father of this girl, the "offended" party, and the fireworks displayed by this actor (Saro Urzi) are just out of this world. The beauty of Stefania Sandrelli was also out of this world, as she looks like a Madonna painted by a Rinascimento master.And she breaks our hearts finding herself in that tremendous conflict that will take her to an inevitable nervous breakdown. Again, women's position in Sicily was very close to total servitude to the dominant male in the family.Lightweight comedy for a wrenching situation until the very bitter ending. Try watching this impossibly wonderful movie, a gift from the Gods of Cinecittà.

Felonious-Punk The photography, direction, acting, music, all is surprisingly flawless for a comedy. It's the story that trips this movie up, but even that is strong for the first two thirds. For the first two-thirds, the movie reaches for the best and achieves what the greatest comedies have achieved. But somewhere towards the end, the plot turned unrealistic to me. Things just got a little more complicated than I felt was believable. I felt as if the director had taken us out for a lovely outing and then he suddenly began to freak out because he couldn't find the way back home. By the time, the word "FINE," appeared on the screen, I had lost all sympathy and amusement for the characters. Argh, it feels like a wasted opportunity! But give it a shot, and see what you think. At least, the first half was a treat, and Stefania Sandrelli's performance is a nice consolation throughout.

Jinzo_Hydra Criterion Collection was generous enough to introduce me to Germi's works, first starting with Divorce, Italian Style. It was only natural that I followed up with Seduced and Abandoned, since I was blown away by Divorced, and had a newfound love of contemporary European cinema, especially from French and Italian filmmakers. I know it's relatively simple to find out about little gems of work from foreign directors (using IMDb, for example), but I'm grateful for a company like Criterion to steer me in the direction of fantastic films and the visionaries that create them. Saves me a lot of time and effort, haha.Now, I'm just some random nobody in his early 20's, born and raised on the prairie of Western Canada. In a sense, I may not be as "culturally perceptive" as someone hailing from a direct Old-World European background. But to discover a film such as Seduced and Abandoned, it was a guaranteed shock to see the enormity of differences between the values, traditions, and customs of Sicily compared to what I grew up in, astonishing since these worlds are separated only by a couple generations! Then again, forced marriage might be as frowned upon nowadays as if someone from that era might look into the future and see the overwhelming divorce rate of ours! It's really a subjectivity of time, where a brilliant, neorealist director, not unlike Germi, of our time will be able to capture a kind of absurdity in the way we deal with (or possibly lack thereof) now common principles and practices, such as infidelity, polygamy, same-sex unions, etc.I'm rambling. Seduced was a depressingly good movie. Sardonic and whimsical at the same time, this one had the ability to leave a bittersweet taste with me afterward, to not dismiss the ideals held in Sicilian culture a couple generations ago, but to ponder them, to compare them to the beliefs and mores of our generation.Sandrelli was phenomenal, as always. And I'm glad Germi cast Saro Urzi as the father instead of some North American counterpart, like Borgnine... Added to a certain authenticity that I wouldn't find if that'd been the case.Lando Buzzanca as Antonio, and Leopoldo Triste as the Baron were amazing as the kind of actors that kept the comedic ball rolling in this type of film; although Seduced is known as a key player in the Comedia d'all Italiano, without these laugh-out-loud performances, the film would be a depressing portrayal of old Italian values and nothing but.I look forward to the day when a company like Criterion will release more of Pietro Germi's film works (undoubtedly his 1950's dramatic working class oeuvre), to an international audience...Until then.

Gerald A. DeLuca The late Pietro Germi was one of the most gifted comic directors of the post-50s period. He is the man behind such wonderful movies like DIVORCE, ITALIAN STYLE; ALFREDO ALFREDO; SERAFINO; THE CLIMAX; THE BIRDS, THE BEES, AND THE ITALIANS. This hilarious movie, which may be his very best, is a loving yet deadly satire of Sicilian customs. The dejected heroine Agnese (played by Stefania Sandrelli) is seduced by her sister's fiance while she is chaperoning her snoozing sister during the sultry Sicilian siesta hours. She becomes pregnant and must succumb to a shotgun marriage demanded by her father. Problem: Sicilian seducers do not accept unchaste wives. It does not matter that HE seduced the girl. He has his honor. The father has honor too. This corpulent apoplectic domestic tyrant must also protect his family's "onore". For Verdi's Falstaff honor is a mere word. For this proud Sicilian father it is the foundation of our lives. Saro Urzi's performance as the father must be seen to be believed. Everyone else in the cast of this brilliant film is unforgettable as well. Carlo Rustichelli's musical score, like the one he provided for DIVORCE,ITALIAN STYLE is fabulous.