so i just watched women of the world (la donna nel mondo) and it was pretty bad. it was racist, sexist, and the camera lingered lecherously one too many times. the fact that the narrator was british (at least, the english narrator was) gave the whole thing an imperialistic tone as well. i recognize that the movie came out in 1963, and that prevailing attitudes were different back then, but to have an entire movie that's whole identity is based on those ideas and attitudes means that it does not age well. i think the narrator may have made the best argument against this movie himself when he talked about "the most backward villages" in africa--this whole movie feels backwards. i also have to say that there were scenes and elements that reminded me of the most horrible aspects of the geraldo school of "investigative" journalism with the filmmakers chasing down perpetrators.
the camera work, when not sleazy, can be rather picturesque, and the narrator, when not saying horrible things, provides a perfect element of camp (not to mention one line about how in borneo, the more tattooed a woman is the more attractive she is), but that's about all this movie has going for it.
2 out of 5
the camera work, when not sleazy, can be rather picturesque, and the narrator, when not saying horrible things, provides a perfect element of camp (not to mention one line about how in borneo, the more tattooed a woman is the more attractive she is), but that's about all this movie has going for it.
2 out of 5