All Screwed Up

Born in Rome in 1928, Lina Wertmüller (true name Arcangela Felice Assunta Wertmüller von Elgg Spanol von Braucich) enrolled on stage directing courses at the Accademia Pietro Sharoff in 1951. After gaining her diploma, she worked in the theatre with Garinei and Giovannini and became assistant director to Giorgio De Lullo.
She again worked as assistant director to Fellini on “8 1/2 (Otto e mezzo)” (1963). In the meantime, she worked in the radio and directed television programmes such as “Canzonissima”.
She made her film directing debut with “The Basilisks (I basilischi)” (1963), then in 1965 directed the episodic cinema film “Now Let’s Talk About Men (Questa volta parliamo di uomini)” and for the television “Gian Burrasca’s Diary (Il giornalino di Gian Burrasca)”, a successful adaptation of the eponymous novel by Vamba.
Since then she has directed a further seventeen full-length films for the cinema, including “The seduction of Mimi (Mimì metallurgico ferito nell’onore)” (1972), “Love and Anarchy (Film d’amore e d’anarchia)” (1973), “Swept Away… by an unusual destiny in the blue sea of August (Travolti da un’insolito destino nell’azzurro mare d’agosto)” (1974) and “Pasqualino: Seven Beauties (Pasqualino settebellezze)” (1975). With performances by Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato and characterised by intense, grotesque atmospheres, these films display a unique directing style that has proved popular both in Italy and abroad.
Although her subsequent output has been rather inconsistent, highlights include “Blood Feud (Fatto di sangue fra due uomini per causa di una vedova, si sospettano moventi politici)” (1978), “A Joke of Destiny, Lying in Wait Around the Corner Like a Bandit (Scherzo del destino in agguato dietro l’angolo come un brigante da strada)” (1983), “A Complex Plot About Women, Alleys and Crimes (Un complicato intrigo di donne, vicoli e delitti)” (1986), “Saturday, Sunday and Monday (Sabato, domenica e lunedì)” (1990) and “The Nymph (Ninfa plebea)” (1996).
Married to cinema and theatre stage designer Enrico Job, Lina Wertmüller has also published several novels, including “Essere o avere, ma per essere devo avere la testa di Alvise su un piatto d’argento” and “Avrei voluto uno zio esibizionista” (published by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore).—www.italica.rai.it