The Ape Woman

• English Title: The Ape Woman
• Original Title: La donna scimmia
• Year: 1964
• Country: Italy, France
• Language: Italian
• Genre: Comedy, Drama
• Director: Marco Ferreri
• Writers:
• Marco Ferrieri
• Rafael Azcona
• Music: Teo Usuelli
• Cinematography: Aldo Tonti
• Cast:
• Ugo Tognazzi
• Annie Girardot
• Achille Majeroni
• Ermelinda De Felice
• Rating: 6.2/10

A competition entry in Cannes from Italy in 1964, this Marco Ferreri Black-and-White satire cashes in on the real-life story of Julia Pastrana (1834-1860), an indigenous woman from Mexico, whose face and body was covered with straight black hair due to an undiagnosed genetic condition, and was exploited in freak shows as a hybrid between an ape and a woman.

The story is transposed to Naples, where Antonio (Tognazzi), a street-smart showman, alights on a hair-covered Maria (Girardot) in a convent (the script conveniently skates over her provenance by claiming her as an orphan), and takes her in for public exhibition as the so-called “ape woman", but what Maria is is nothing like an ape, she is simply an extra hirsute woman, no feral predisposition or mondo sauciness whatsoever, she is very aware of her unorthodox appearance and never expects a life of normalcy, at any rate, she tries to please Antonio in their act because it is their bread-and-butter, even reluctantly apes the behavior of a chimpanzee in the zoo. When a suspect rich man wants to study her and over-insists that she must retain her virginity, an upstanding Maria rebuffs the deal whilst Antonio is much interested in the financial gain.

Imposed by the convent, the bachelor Antonio has to marry Maria to keep her with him, up till then Maria has developed a gentle affection (awakening sexuality in a more blunt language) towards Antonio whereas the latter still chastely intends to remain their relationship completely business-like, only to soon to surrender in sharing their tiny bed. A sortie in Paris, working their...