Is rape a state of mind? Can willing participants unconsciously commit this crime? Must rape involve violence? Featured as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Week, Marco Bellocchio's film, "The Conviction," examines the gray areas between violent passion and violation.
Sandra Celestini, played by Claire Nebout, must spend the night in the Castele Farnese art museum when locked inside after closing. She soon discovers that she is not alone. Professor Lorenzo Colajanni's startling appearance complicates her situation, and the explicit scenes which follow oscillate between force and consent. At dawn we discover Colajanni has had the museum keys the entire time, and a high-profile rape trial quickly engulfs the audience.
Before a packed court room, the distinguished professor explains that coercion is necessary in sexual encounters: "Women must be compelled to release a secret beauty they never reveal willingly. I forced her, but I did not rape her."With the professor's testimony, Bellocchio presents questions concerning freedom, inferiority, and "unconscious drives."
Sandra follows with an explanation of how sexuality can be induced against a person's wishes. Consent may be given as a result of weakness, and rape need not include actual violence. Possession of the keys gave the professor the freedom he denied Sandra. He held the power -- her consent was an unwilling act arising from the inferiority of her position. Amidst the rampaging violins of Carlo Crivelli's amazing musical score, the Professor is found guilty.
As moral court room arguments bombard the audience, Bellocchio strikes with another controversial scenario. He analyzes the Public Attorney's sexual relations with his wife and introduces the possibility of rape in marriage.The film's focus shifts to the PA's confusion over the role of mental violence in sexual assault. The lawyer resolves the dilemma with a discussion of societal condemnation versus individual madness.
The controversial arguments of the film create a very dry, heavy plot, and the nature of the events make many viewers squeamish. However, Vittorio Mezzogiorno delivers an exceptional performance as Professor Colajanni, and Crivelli's musical talents enhance dramatic scenes. The film's most redeeming quality is its radical thematic development; it demands that the audience develop its own opinionsabout "rape."
