Swept Away, directed by Guy Ritchie, begins when Anthony Leighton (played by Bruce Greenwood), a wealthy corporate executive, charters a small Italian fishing yacht for a brief vacation with his wife Amber (played by Madonna, the director's spouse) and two other couples. The women are extremely bitchy, insulting the Italian crew on board, especially Giuseppe Esposito (played by Adriano Giannini), a fisherman who serves as the waiter for meals; although his nicknames are Peppe and Guido, Amber derogatorily calls him Nature Boy and orders him about rudely. On one occasion, Amber displays her arrogance by remarking that capitalism involves setting the highest possible price for commodities that the market will bear regardless of ethnical considerations, a characterization that even her husband finds difficult to swallow. One day, Amber insists that Peppe take the dingy out for a spin despite his warning that there is little time left before sundown and that there is a possibility of stormy weather. After the dingy goes beyond sight of the yacht, the engine gives out. Later, when the yacht comes into view, Amber finds a flaregun on board. Since she does not know how to operate the flaregun, Peppe struggles with her to gain possession, but she shoots a hole in the dingy, so they fail to get the attention of the yacht. Instead, they use their bodies as patches over the hole until they see land, which happens to be a deserted island. (The filming is in Malta and Sardinia.) As soon as they land, Amber continues to issue orders to Peppe in a rude manner, but he alone finds food and water. When he has had enough of her abuse one day, he tells her that he is now in charge; she must address him as "Master," be polite, and do whatever he wants if she is to be fed. Eventually, Peppe tames Amber into behaving nicely, and she realizes that she has never been happier. One day she kisses his feet and leg, showing that she now loves him as well as her subordinate role, and she proclaims that she wants to be with him forever. After a month, a boat comes to the island. Although Amber does not want to get the attention of the boat, Peppe decides to test her love by having them both return to civilization. Amber's husband then locates her and arranges to pay a reward to Peppe, who in turn uses the money to buy a wedding ring for her. After a week, he calls to beg to live with her, and she agrees. Peppe then tells her that he will leave instructions about how the two are to be reunited. However, her husband finds out. Suspense at the end of the film hinges on whether she will indeed leave her life of luxury to live simply with a Sicilian fisherman, having so recently learned that material comforts do not confer the greater happiness derived from an intimate emotional relationship. Swept Away is a retake of a controversial 1974 Italian film of the same title, with Giannini's father in the lead, which demonstrated the vices of capitalism and the virtues of a communist life, not just on a deserted island. However, the political message of 1974 was eclipsed by the fall of the Soviet Union and was too stale by 2002 to hint at anything profound. MH
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