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When Love Is Lust

Name: When Love Is Lust
Director: Vittorio De Sisti
Released: 1973
Duration: 93 min

Representation Score

4.1/10

Fair

1973

Director

Vittorio De Sisti

Runtime

93 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

When Love Is Lust examines the collapse of mid-century social and familial norms through themes of decadence and desire. While the film lacks diverse representation, it effectively dismantles the traditional bourgeois family structure. The narrative challenges gender expectations by highlighting a woman's refusal to conform to domestic norms. However, the film remains confined to a homogeneous European social class. Ultimately, the work serves more as a critique of social hierarchies than a diverse representation of identity, emphasizing the deconstruction of morality over inclusive casting.

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Category Breakdown

Does When Love Is Lust have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The film does not include any explicit LGBTQ+ characters or explore non-straight relationships. The plot revolves around a troubled heterosexual relationship between a daughter, her husband, and her mother-in-law.

How does When Love Is Lust portray gender?

Fair

The story challenges traditional gender roles by focusing on a daughter's resistance to an arranged marriage. It also questions the stability of the masculine provider through the husband's affair with his mother-in-law.

How racially and ethnically diverse is When Love Is Lust?

Limited

The narrative unfolds within a socially uniform setting typical of 1970s European cinema. There is no indication of a diverse cast or racial backgrounds.

How does When Love Is Lust represent religion and culture?

Good

The film critiques traditional institutions by depicting the aristocracy and transactional marriages as dysfunctional. It emphasizes individual desires over established Western family values and social hierarchies.

Does When Love Is Lust include disability representation?

Minimal

There are no visible or invisible disabilities depicted in the narrative.

Present on Screen

Highlights a woman's resistance to conforming to domestic expectations, challenging traditional gender roles.
Questions the stability of the masculine provider through depictions of infidelity and domestic instability.
Criticizes the transactional nature of aristocratic marriage and established social hierarchies.

Limited or Absent

Does not include any representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight relationships.
Operates within a homogeneous social framework with no multi-ethnic or diverse racial casting.
Does not depict any visible or invisible disabilities.

Official Synopsis

A decadent countess, middle-aged but still attractive, forces her young and timid daughter to marry a rich butcher. But the couple’s sexual relation is troubled, because the girl has her fair share of inhibitions. So she abandons her house and seeks refuge at her sister’s place. During her absence, her husband finds consolation in his mother in law’s arms.

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