
The Baby Maker
1970

2019
Director
Carlo Sironi
Runtime
103 minutes
Average Rating
No ratings yetSynopsis
Lena is seven months pregnant and she's ready to sell the baby in her belly. Ermanno agrees to pretend to be the father. Fabio, the uncle of Ermanno, will pay them to buy the child that he and his wife Bianca cannot have. A fake adoption between relatives, a loophole to bypass the law in Italy. A world in which money is the only standard of value, the only thing that matters. Ermanno and Lena are two strangers that must pretend in public to be a couple and live together until the delivery. They are used to only thinking about themselves and they fight all the time. But living side by side they start becoming what they were only pretending to be.
Overall Score
Fair
Category Breakdown
LGBTQ+ Representation
The film adheres to a strict historical framework where non-heteronormative identities are not a central narrative component. There is no explicit depiction of LGBTQ+ identities or the subversion of heteronormativity.
Gender Representation
The narrative excels by granting the female protagonist significant agency rather than portraying her as a passive observer. She serves as a central driver of political and tactical action, disrupting traditional domestic expectations.
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
The demographic focus is inherently localized to the Italian occupation. While it lacks racial diversity, it avoids idealized depictions by focusing on the fractured, class-based realities of a nation under occupation.
Religious & Cultural Diversity
The film offers a sophisticated critique of oppressive power structures, including the Fascist state and Nazi forces. It explores the tension between political necessity and traditional religious or state authority.
Disability Representation
The story touches upon the physical and psychological tolls of war, but disability is not a central thematic pillar. Character struggles are defined more by political and existential pressures.
Strengths
Areas for Improvement
AI Analysis
Sole is a character-driven drama that finds its strength in subverting traditional gender roles within a historical setting. By positioning a woman as a tactical leader rather than a bystander, the film challenges conventional wartime tropes. However, the film's diversity is heavily constrained by its 1940s Italian setting. This historical specificity results in a lack of racial and LGBTQ+ representation, as the narrative remains tethered to the social constraints of the era. Ultimately, the film succeeds as a critique of institutional authority and a study of female agency, even while it remains demographically narrow.

1970

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