Seduced and Abandoned

Seduced and Abandoned (Sedotta e abbandonata, 1964) is Pietro Germi's Italian tragicomedy, and you can watch online on iFILM. In a small Sicilian town, young Agnese gives in to her older sister's fiancé and ends up pregnant. That single disgrace sets off a bitter, very funny scramble to protect the family name.

Patriarch Vincenzo Ascalone cares nothing for his daughter's feelings — only for the household's reputation. He has no wish to punish the seducer Peppino. Quite the opposite: he marches the man toward the altar at the point of social shame to bury the scandal. The jilted older sister needs a replacement groom, and a broke, toothless baron will do nicely. Stefania Sandrelli, barely starting out, plays Agnese; Saro Urzì, honored at Cannes for the role, is the fearsome father.

Germi films the southern code of honor as farce — everyone smiling, everyone miserable, the woman traded like a coin in a man's ledger. It's sharp, sour satire that lands its punches at patriarchal hypocrisy while you're still laughing. If you love the golden age of Italian cinema, don't skip this one. Stream Seduced and Abandoned (1964) online on iFILM.