After deserting from the Italian Army, small-time Neapolitan hood Pasqualino 'Seven Beauties' Frafuso is captured by the Germans and sent to a harsh prison camp run by a sadistic female commandant (Shirley Stoler) where he discovers just how low he'll sink to stay alive. The film is an intriguing blend of comedy and brutality as Pasqualino relives (through flashbacks) the events that brought him to the camp (including the murder of his homely sister's pimp and his awkward attempts to dispose of the body). Survival is the underlying theme, as Pasqualino, a small, unprepossessing man, postures and struts to maintain his place in the Naples underworld, then has to find food and shelter when on the run from the Germans (the scene of him chattering to a bemused elderly German woman while stuffing his face on stolen food is priceless), and finally decides that seducing the corpulent commandant is the only way to survive the camp. Throughout the film, the imagery is outstanding, sometimes colourful and bizarre (but not as grotesque as Fellini), other times monochrome and almost painful to look at. The film will not be to everyone's taste but I very much enjoyed it.
Review of Seven Beauties
