Submission (1976)

Submission is a daring, feverish slice of 1970s European cinema that uses wartime France not as spectacle, but as a pressure cooker for desire, shame, and power. Salvatore Samperi directs with a provocative confidence, letting the film glide from illicit romance into something far more unsettling, anchored by Lisa Gastoni’s fearless performance as a woman discovering how easily passion can curdle into control. Franco Nero brings a dangerous magnetism that makes the dynamic believable even when it’s uncomfortable, and the whole picture carries that dusky, claustrophobic vibe where every glance feels like a dare. It’s not for everyone—its sexual politics are intentionally abrasive and the material can feel harsh—but if you’re drawn to adult dramas that stare straight at taboo and refuse easy judgments, it’s an arresting watch.

Submission is aiming for a dark, provocative psychosexual drama about desire turning into power, set against the pressure-cooker backdrop of wartime France. The problem is it often plays less like a nuanced study of manipulation and more like a series of escalating humiliations designed to shock, with character psychology taking a back seat to sleaze. If you’re sensitive to coercive sex, degradation, and a storyline that pushes taboos involving a teenager (without needing to show anything explicit to feel gross), this is absolutely not a safe pick. That said, Samperi does bring a certain grim, Euro-arthouse atmosphere and committed performances, but it’s the kind of film you watch for discomfort and provocation, not satisfaction or insight.