Following its theatrical release back in February, the Polish movie 365 Days was dropped on Netflix last month and has become a popular viewing option on the streaming service. Thanks to its steamy subject matter, it’s drawn a lot of comparisons to the Fifty Shades of Grey film series, but this specific dive into erotica has also drawn controversy. One of 365 Days’ chief detractors is Welsh singer Duffy, who says that the movie “glamorizes the brutal reality of sex trafficking, kidnapping and rape.”
Earlier this year, Duffy shared to the public her experience of being kidnapped, raped and held hostage years ago, resulting in her needing to disappear from the spotlight so she could recover. Cut to now, Duffy is criticizing Netflix for making 365 Days available to its subscribers. In a public letter addressing Netflix CEO Reed Hastings (via Deadline), Duffy said the following:
It grieves me that Netflix provides a platform for such ‘cinema’, that eroticises kidnapping and distorts sexual violence and trafficking as a 'sexy' movie. I just can’t imagine how Netflix could overlook how careless, insensitive, and dangerous this is. It has even prompted some young women, recently, to jovially ask Michele Morrone, the lead actor in the film, to kidnap them.
In case you aren’t in the loop on 365 Days, the movie follows a young woman from Warsaw who’s involved in an unhappy relationship and finds herself held captive by a Sicilian gangster, who gives her a full year to fall in love with him. 365 Days was a hit at the Polish box office with a $9 million haul, and ever since it arrived on Netflix, it’s frequently made the service’s Top 10 list in various territories. That’s even more impressive when you take into account that 365 Days ranks at 0% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, although it’s certainly not the only movie available on Netflix that’s earned such a distinction lately.
However, as noted earlier, Duffy is far from the only person who has a problem with 365 Days. In fact, a Change.org petition was launched that’s calling for the movie’s removal from Netflix due to its glorification of “human trafficking and Stockholm Syndrome. At the time of this writing, the petition has collected over 6,300 “signatures.”
You can read Duffy’s full letter to understand her entire thought process on 365 Days, but here’s how she capped off her message to Reed Hastings:
If all of you at Netflix take nothing from this open letter but these final words, I will be content. You have not realized how 365 Days has brought great hurt to those who have endured the pains and horrors that this film glamorizes, for entertainment and for dollars. What I and others who know these injustices need is the exact opposite – a narrative of truth, hope, and to be given a voice.
Whether or not Netflix will seriously consider Duffy’s demand remains to be seen, though given how well 365 Days been performing, I imagine the chances are slim (though not impossible) that the movie will be outright removed. It’s also worth mentioning that there’s a 365 Days sequel in the works, although due to the current health crisis, shooting won’t begin on the project until sometime next year.
If you so choose, you can judge 365 Days for yourself by streaming it on Netflix now. As for movies that are supposed to be played on the big screen later this year, you can learn what’s on the way with our 2020 release schedule.
