I Spit on Your Grave is a French film about the problems of crime and race in America. It seems to be made by people who have learned about crime and race strictly by watching other movies. Is this a bad thing? Not if one watches I Spit on Your Grave in the right frame of mind.
Joe Grant (Christian Marquand) is a (very) light-skinned African-American from Mississippi who finds his brother dead from a lynching. He decides to go to Trenton (presumably N. J.), pass for white, and avenge his brother. Trenton is a crime ridden city under the influence of a bike gang led by a smooth-talking scoundrel who plans to marry the local rich girl, Elisabeth Shannon (Antonella Lualdi). Joe goes to work for a bookseller (Fernand Ledoux), promptly upturns the criminal status quo, and falls for the rich girl.
The script is somewhat hard to swallow at times. It seems that every hot looking, young woman wants to go to bed with Joe. He constantly obliges in spite of the fact that he supposedly loves the rich girl. Also, the film wears its references rather loudly. Joe is dressed similarly to Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront. The bike gang is out of The Wild One or some juvenile delinquent B-picture. The rich girl's fancy estate suggests a Southern melodrama. The climatic run to the Canadian border (from Trenton, N. J.?) suggests a lot of westerns and gangster films. It is clear the filmmakers have watched many other movies.
At its best, I Spit on Your Grave has an in-you-face energy that reminds me of Samuel Fuller. I enjoyed the film for that reason. As a pulpy crime movie, I Spit on Your Grave is a lot of fun. As some sort of statement about race and crime in America, the film misses by a wide margin.
Joe Grant (Christian Marquand) is a (very) light-skinned African-American from Mississippi who finds his brother dead from a lynching. He decides to go to Trenton (presumably N. J.), pass for white, and avenge his brother. Trenton is a crime ridden city under the influence of a bike gang led by a smooth-talking scoundrel who plans to marry the local rich girl, Elisabeth Shannon (Antonella Lualdi). Joe goes to work for a bookseller (Fernand Ledoux), promptly upturns the criminal status quo, and falls for the rich girl.
The script is somewhat hard to swallow at times. It seems that every hot looking, young woman wants to go to bed with Joe. He constantly obliges in spite of the fact that he supposedly loves the rich girl. Also, the film wears its references rather loudly. Joe is dressed similarly to Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront. The bike gang is out of The Wild One or some juvenile delinquent B-picture. The rich girl's fancy estate suggests a Southern melodrama. The climatic run to the Canadian border (from Trenton, N. J.?) suggests a lot of westerns and gangster films. It is clear the filmmakers have watched many other movies.
At its best, I Spit on Your Grave has an in-you-face energy that reminds me of Samuel Fuller. I enjoyed the film for that reason. As a pulpy crime movie, I Spit on Your Grave is a lot of fun. As some sort of statement about race and crime in America, the film misses by a wide margin.