Eva Desconhecida

This "Mondo" movie is centered around women. The film takes us around the world and we are shown a lot of pretty bizarre stuff. Female coed hitchhikers in Sweden, mothers of thalidomide babies, stone age drag queens, sexy polynesian dancers, and the bizarre "women of the window" of Hamburg are among the attractions. The sequence I found the most incredible was the village in Algeria where all the working age men were killed in civil war. The widows support the children by sneaking up during Algerian Army artillery practice and rush in between rounds to gather the shrapnel from the shells to sell to scrap metal dealers! Not the best "mondo" movie, but worth a look.

I recently picked up the "Mondo Cane collection" from Blue Underground. The second of the official Mondo films is "Women of the World", feels more like a spin-off then an actual sequel to "Mondo Cane" as in was made in between the previous original Mondo, but before the sequel for that "shockumentary". "Women of the World" is just that, showing women from around the globe, from Israeli officers to Hamburg hookers, from Swedish co-ed hitch-hikers to gay drag queens. All in the name of enlightenment, i suppose. Like the previous film it saves the more risque parts for the latter area of the film (childbirth, army widows, etc...) Not as good as the previous film, but still worth a look.

My Grade: C

DVD Extras: 2 theatrical trailers (Usa and International); Poster and still gallery

"Women of the World" is an entertaining mondo movie from Paolo ("Mondo Cane") Cavara and Gualtiero ("Mondo Cane" 1 & 2, "Farewell Africa", "Goodbye Uncle Tom") Jacopetti.

Ably narrated by the legendary Peter Ustinov, this has an overall lighter tone than the other mondo movies from Cavara and Jacopetti, concentrating on the fairer of the species and their activities around the world. Cue some scenes of very lovely ladies as well as some less attractive females!

As always, some of the content does have a disturbing edge and there are some genuinely moving scenes.

The film's imagery and narration are accompanied by an excellent score by Nino Oliviero and Riz Ortolani.

7 out of 10. A memorable film experience and an interesting glimpse into the past. They don't make 'em like this anymore!

Based upon today's standards, the Cane series may seem quite dated. But when I was in high school, these were cult films and considered quite unique and groundbreaking. While the reaction wasn't anything like that of Rocky Horror Picture Show, many teens enjoyed going to these movies over and over. We had never seen anything quite like it. These were the days long before the internet and cable TV. Married people were still sleeping in twin beds on TV, so the times were VERY different. The Cane series just opened up a whole new world. My two favorites were Mondo Cane and Women of the World. Some of the scenes are rather gory. Pictures of face lifts and other beauty treatments can be seen today 24/7 on cable TV, but this was heavy for the time. The award winning song, "More" came from Mando Cane. Its melody is haunting and all of you have heard it, even though you might not be aware that it came from that movie. Peter Ustinov was definitely ahead of his time and these movies are worth seeing, if for no other reason than to find out what your parents or grandparents found fascinating during their adolescence!

I recently watched the Italian film Women of the World (1963) on the Full Moon app on Prime. This light-hearted documentary-style film attempts to depict women around the world performing everyday tasks "accustomed to their culture" while also touching on themes of sexual and lifestyle freedoms supposedly hidden within these women's souls.

The film is co-directed by Paolo Cavara, Gualtiero Jacopetti, and Franco Prosperi, who also collaborated on A Dog's Life.

By the end of this film, I was left wondering what I had just watched. The narration is cheesy, and the content feels scattered. The depiction of a "siren" features one of the worst costumes I've ever seen. At times, it tries to be humorous, but the jokes fall flat. I couldn't quite understand why the runtime needed to be as long as it was.

In conclusion, Women of the World is one of the worst mockumentaries I've seen. I'd score it 1/10 and recommend skipping it.