A Review of the Remake

Trying to stay on top of my assignments, I watched And God Created Woman via Sakai this past weekend. I did not realize that the version I viewed was the 1988 remake of the original, Et Dieu..crea femme, until the final scenes. How the music, hairstyles and high wasted jeans, and the fact that the lead actress was Rebecca De Mornay and not Bridgette Bardot, did not tip me off is beyond me. However, I attribute this to my life as a busy college student; lacking the sleep I should get and needing more coffee.

Aside from this hiccup, I believe the remake carries a similar message to the original. De Mornay plays a beautiful and seductive woman who has men groveling at her feet. Her nonchalant attitude results in a certain charm, and gives her the upper hand, and the ability to control the men who seek her attention. The movie follows her arranged marriage to escape prison life and portraying De Mornay’;s character, as lacking the sensitivity a woman should have by society’s standards, she uses men to obtain her goal of freedom.

While it is somewhat entertaining to watch this young convict’s sexual adventures, the film lacks any substantial or deeper meaning applicable to the advancement of feminism. Rather the film seems to sustain certain stereotypical views of women based upon the character De Mornay plays. The movie is also somewhat demeaning to De Mornay’s character as well as she uses the sacrament of marriage as she uses marriage simply as a business arrangement when she weds Vincent Spanoas. Her relationship with Frank Lanfella based on power and sex, not love. There is an interesting dynamic as De Mornay seems to have more mental power, cleverly using her gender to attain her goals over men who are pre-occupied having a relationship with her. Still, De Mornay is confined. In the end, love relationship develops out of what was a business deal. I am not overly impressed with this remake of And God Created Woman. It succeeds in choosing handsome actors but promotes objectification. It is good to watch, if you need some mindless entertainment.