One of Lina Wertmuller's frequent themes is how Northern Italy often looks down on Southern Italy. Nowhere does she explore this better than in "Swept Away". While on a tour in the Mediterranean, spoiled, pro-Fascist Northern Italian Raffaela Pavone Lanzetti (Mariangela Melato) orders Sicilian deckhand Gennarino Carunchio (Giancarlo Giannini) to take her to the grotto so she can go swimming before dinner. Lo and behold, the boat conks out and they end up an uncharted island (no, this isn't "Gilligan's Island" here). Raffaela treats Gennarino like dirt at first, but after he explodes at her, she grows to respect him.
Like I said, this was Lina Wertmuller's best treatment of Northern-Southern Italian relations.
Like I said, this was Lina Wertmuller's best treatment of Northern-Southern Italian relations.