365 Days (2020 film)

After a meeting between the Torricelli Sicilian Mafia crime family and black market dealers, Massimo Torricelli watches a beautiful woman on a beach. Then, Massimo and his father, leader of the Sicilian Mafia family, were both shot by the dealers; Massimo survives while his father dies from his injuries.

Five years later, Massimo is now the leader of the Torricelli crime family. In Warsaw, Laura Biel, a fiery executive, is unhappy in her relationship with her boyfriend Martin. Laura celebrates her 29th birthday in Italy but after Martin embarrasses her, she goes for a walk and runs into Massimo, who kidnaps her.

At his villa, Massimo reveals to Laura that she was the woman at the beach five years ago and that when he was injured, all he could think about was her. After searching for years and finally spotting her, he had to have her and intends to keep her as a prisoner for 365 days until she falls in love with him. He also promises her that he will not touch her without her consent, whilst simultaneously having his hands around her throat and touching her. When she tries to escape, he does not let her leave.

As they spend time together, Laura teases him and then refuses to have sex with him. However, she slowly starts to get him to open up about his personal life. At a hotel in Rome, she teases him again and he cuffs her to the bed. She is forced to watch Massimo receive oral sex from another woman. Afterward, she appears to want to give in. However, he stops, releases her, and orders her to get dressed for a club.

At the club, Laura flaunts herself for Massimo and his friends, angering him. When she begins to flirt with a man from the rival mafia family, the man gropes her against her will. Massimo and the others draw their weapons while Laura is taken out of the club. The following morning, she awakens on a yacht to Massimo and his fellow mafioso, Mario, arguing. During the night, Massimo shot the man's hand who had groped Laura, inciting a mafia war between the two families. Laura attempts to apologize, but Massimo blames her for the incident. As they argue, Laura falls into the water and starts to panic. Massimo jumps in to save her. When she awakens, he admits he was scared she might not make it and does not want to lose her. They make love on the yacht.

Massimo allows Laura to visit her family in Warsaw. He tells her he loves her and will join her after finishing up business. In Warsaw, Laura waits for Massimo for days with no contact. She reconnects with Olga and they go clubbing. She runs into Martin, who says he has been looking for her to apologize. He attempts to convince her to reconcile and follows her back to her apartment, where Massimo is unexpectedly waiting. While having sex, she opens his shirt to see wounds from the mafia war. She confesses to him that she loves him. The following morning, Massimo proposes and she accepts. However, she asks him to keep his "occupation" a secret from her parents.

Back in Italy, Mario informs Massimo of rising tensions. Laura mentions feeling unwell but brushes off seeing a doctor. They discuss their upcoming wedding that her family is not allowed to attend, as she does not want them to discover what Massimo does. However, Massimo allows Olga to come as Laura's bridesmaid. When Olga visits, Laura reveals she is pregnant. Olga urges her to tell Massimo about the pregnancy. Meanwhile, Mario receives a phone call from a Torricelli informant that the rival mafia family is about to kill Laura. Laura's car enters a tunnel but does not come out the other side. Mario rushes to find Massimo just as Laura's call drops. Realizing the implications, Massimo breaks down, as a police car blares at the entrance of the tunnel.

• Michele Morrone as Don Massimo Torricelli
• Anna-Maria Sieklucka as Laura Biel
• Bronisław Wrocławski as Mario
• Otar Saralidze as Domenico
• Magdalena Lamparska as Olga
• Natasza Urbańska as Anna
• Grażyna Szapołowska as Klara Biel, Laura's mother
• Tomasz Stockinger as Tomasz Biel, Laura's father
• Gianni Parisi as Massimo's father
• Mateusz Łasowski as Martin
• Blanka Lipińska as a bride[7]

The film scenes were primarily shot in Poland (Warsaw, Krakow and Niepołomice) and in Italy (Sanremo).[8]

The film's theme song "Feel It",[9] along with the songs "Watch Me Burn", "Dark Room" and "Hard for Me", are sung by Morrone. The songs "I See Red," "Give Em Hell" and "Wicked Ways" were sung by Everybody Loves an Outlaw, a.k.a. Bonnie and Taylor Sims.[10] "I See Red" made #1 on Spotify's Viral 50 chart in the US, with "Hard for Me" also in the top 5.[10] Morrone and Everybody Loves an Outlaw entered the top 10 of Rolling Stone's Breakthrough 25 Chart.[10]

365 Days was released in Poland on 7 February 2020, grossing $9 million.[1] In the United Kingdom, the film received a limited theatrical release on 14 February 2020, and grossed $494,181,[1] before premiering on Netflix in June 2020.[11]

The film made the top three most viewed items on Netflix in numerous territories, including Germany, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Turkey, Sweden, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Greece, Romania, South Africa, Portugal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Mauritius, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, Malaysia, and the United States.[12][13] It was the first movie to have two multiday periods as Netflix's #1 movie in the US: it was #1 for 4 days, then replaced in that position by Da 5 Bloods, but then, 3 days later, returned to #1. The film has thus had 10 days as #1, the second highest in the chart's history.[14]

365 Days drew parallels with the 2015 erotic drama Fifty Shades of Grey.[15][11][16][17] It was criticised for romanticising kidnapping and rape.[18][19][20][21] Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes collected 15 reviews and identified 0% of them as positive, with an average rating of 1.9/10.[22]

Jessica Kiang of Variety described the film as "a thoroughly terrible, politically objectionable, occasionally hilarious Polish humpathon".[23] The Guardian, after citing other media – "Variety called it 'dumber-than-hair'. Cosmopolitan labelled it 'the worst thing I’ve ever seen'" – highlights the film's "dismal dialogue", poor character development and unsexy sex scenes.[24]

On June 17, 2020, Collectif Soeurcières, a French feminist collective, started an online petition through Change.org, addressing Netflix France, to pull the film from streaming availability. As of August 16, it gained 40,000 signatures.[25] On July 2, 2020, singer Duffy wrote an open letter, addressing Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, criticizing the film for glamorizing sexual violence. "This should not be anyone’s idea of entertainment, nor should it be described as such, or be commercialized in this manner", she said.[26] After this, another Change.org petition, initiated by social media influencer Mikayla Zazon, gained over 70,000 signatures.[27] On July 8, 2020, PTC president Timothy F. Winter requested Netflix to remove the film from the platform.[28]

Plans have been made to work on a sequel, but have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[29]

• 365 Days at IMDb