‘365 Days: This Day’ Somehow Passes the Bechdel Test

Ah, the Bechdel Test… It seems almost quaint in 2022, but there was a time when it was all the rage to judge films based on criteria established on the pages of an indie graphic novel penned by Alison Bechdel. According to Bechdel, for a movie to be feminist, 1) there must be at least two female characters (with names), 2) these characters need to speak with each other in at least one scene, and 3) their conversation should not be about a man. A great many cinematic masterpiece fails to pass the Bechdel Test, but one horny trash fire of a Netflix flick does.

The European erotic thriller 365 Days: This Day somehow passes the Bechdel Test. There is not one, but two (!!) scenes where Laura (Anna-Maria Sieklucka) and her bestie Olga (Magdalena Lamparska) have conversations that have nothing to do with the mafia men they are boinking. It’s a miracle. It’s a marvel. It’s an utter mystery!

So what does this say about 365 Days: This Day? Does it have some secret feminist merit? More importantly, what does it say about the Bechdel Test? Could it be that pop culture fixated on a hollow formula to solve its institutional sexism? And how exactly does a movie like 365 Days: This Day pull this feat off?

365 Days: This Day is the raunchy sequel to the 2020 Netflix hit 365 Days (or 365 dni). The original film is a Polish/Italian rip-off of Fifty Shades of Grey (which is in turn a rip off of Twilight fan fiction) about a domineering Italian gangster who kidnaps a Polish woman he’s been obsessed with for five years. Massimo (Michele Morrone) bets that he can make Laura fall in love with him by the end of 365 days of captivity. Somehow she does. (It helps that he is very rich and very handsome, I guess?)

365 Days: This Day opens on Laura and Massimo’s wedding day. Everything seems perfect for the sexually voracious couple. They go on a super horny honeymoon, attend fancy parties, and celebrate Christmas with loved ones. Even Laura’s best friend Olga is having the time of her life as she’s fallen in love with one of Massimo’s most trusted lieutenants. Laura and Olga have abandoned their normal lives in Poland to be mafia brides and they honestly make a good case for it.

The first 365 Days: This Day scene that passes the Bechdel Test happens after the honeymoon is over. Laura and Olga go for a girl’s trip to…somewhere. They drive along the Italian coast in Laura’s Ferrari. When Laura and Olga finally reach their destination, they walk on a beach, reminiscing about how they first met. It’s a nonsensical scene that has something to do with Olga’s mom hanging out the window with a plate of food. Laura makes a dig about Olga’s cocaine habit and roller skating comes up. The friends end the discussion proclaiming their love for each other and how they’ll always be side-by-side.

It’s a sweet scene that I couldn’t quite follow, but you know what? It passes the Bechdel Test, so it must be good!

Later, Massimo gifts Laura her own clothing company for Christmas because she loves “work.” Olga accompanies Laura to this mysterious luxury brand’s offices. There they meet a woman named Emily. She tells Laura they’ll chat about work for the new year, but first, makeovers. Olga trips. Champagne flows. Clothes are tried on. For a brief scene, we hear nothing of Massimo.  Once again, the Bechdel Test is satiated.

Here’s the thing: both of these scenes have absolutely nothing to do with the plot. We already knew Olga was Laura’s ride or die because Olga left her home country to put up with her friend’s pornographic shenanigans. We also don’t need to see Laura’s clothing company because it has nothing to do with the story later on. It’s just a nice gesture from Massimo, a gangster who sometimes behaves more like a tech billionaire bro. The only reason I can think of for including these scenes? To pass the Bechdel Test!

The fact that 365 Days: This Day passes the Bechdel Test feels like proof positive that it is not only easy for films to do the bare minimum in terms of female representation, but also that the “test” is kind of meaningless. These two scenes don’t make 365 Days: This Day a better film. They just satisfy a very niche suggestion from a graphic novel panel.

That said, it is hilarious that 365 Days: This Day — a sequel to a movie that argued that enslaving a woman was a great idea — passes the Bechdel Test. Hilarious, and sort of sad.