A masterpiece of trash, Italian-style
Nando Cicero’s film (the title literally translates as “Long Live the Seal”, but in a play of words it roughly means “Long Live the Pussy”. Its full title was intended to be “Long Love the Seal… may God Bless it”) was immediately seized by the censor for its perceived assault on common decency. Rediscovered in recent years, it has come to be considered a masterpiece of trash cinema. The respected critic Sergio Germani defined it “A bargain basement Some Like it Hot.” The plot itself is somewhat unrealistic: instead of a concrete narrative structure we find ourselves faced with a dizzying array of visual and verbal gags, disconcerting surrealist twists and frankly unmentionable vulgarity. Lory Del Santo runs around in a state of partial undress or completely naked for most of the film, accompanied by a seal (to be precise, it is actually a sea lion) and surrounded by a variety of delirious character with only one thing on their minds. There’s not a moment of respite.
Nurse Andrea arrives in Rome from Veneto and finds work in the clinic of Dr. Patacchiola, a sexual maniac with a wife and daughter who both suffer from nymphomania. Andrea wins a seal in a competition: it was supposed to be a fur coat, but they decided to send her the animal still alive. She tries her hand at working in television and ends up managing a clinic for obesity.
A masterpiece of trash, Italian-style
Nando Cicero’s film (the title literally translates as “Long Live the Seal”, but in a play of words it roughly means “Long Live the Pussy”. Its full title was intended to be “Long Love the Seal… may God Bless it”) was immediately seized by the censor for its perceived assault on common decency. Rediscovered in recent years, it has come to be considered a masterpiece of trash cinema. The respected critic Sergio Germani defined it “A bargain basement Some Like it Hot.” The plot itself is somewhat unrealistic: instead of a concrete narrative structure we find ourselves faced with a dizzying array of visual and verbal gags, disconcerting surrealist twists and frankly unmentionable vulgarity. Lory Del Santo runs around in a state of partial undress or completely naked for most of the film, accompanied by a seal (to be precise, it is actually a sea lion) and surrounded by a variety of delirious character with only one thing on their minds. There’s not a moment of respite.
Nurse Andrea arrives in Rome from Veneto and finds work in the clinic of Dr. Patacchiola, a sexual maniac with a wife and daughter who both suffer from nymphomania. Andrea wins a seal in a competition: it was supposed to be a fur coat, but they decided to send her the animal still alive. She tries her hand at working in television and ends up managing a clinic for obesity.
