Scrubbers (1982)

Although women in prison films are inevitably bound to feature several of the familiar trappings the genre has become infamous for throughout the years, be they innocent protagonists wrongfully imprisoned, villainous, oftentimes female wardens, sadomasochism and lesbianism, the genre isn't as one-note as those with only a cursory knowledge of it might suspect. Whereas some of the earliest examples of the genre from the 1930's could be seen as cautionary morality tales, the seeds for what the genre is best known for today were planted in the 1950's which in turn gave way to the much more sordid European take on the genre. Jess Franco in particular had this market expertly cornered with films like 99 Women (1969), Barbed Wire Dolls (1975), Women Behind Bars (1975), Ilsa the Wicked Warden (1977), Women in Cell Block 9 (1977) and Sadomania (1980). The Italian's also proved themselves more than apt in the women in prison department, with films like Bruno Mattei's Caged Women (1984), Women's Prison Massacre (1985) as well as Rino Di Silvestro's Women in Cell Block 7 (1974) being some of the more infamous names in the genre. Mai Zetterling's Scrubbers is one of the more interesting films to technically fall under the WiP banner, with Zetterling painting a bleak portrait of the lives of delinquent girls sent to borstal and the system that would rather forget about those is claims to “reform”

Carol and Annetta, two young delinquents, escape from a borstal with two very different plans. Annetta is desperate to see her daughter while Carol hopes to be captured and sent to another facility where her girlfriend Doreen is being held. After crashing a truck into a building, Carol gets her wish and is sent to a rougher borstal where Doreen is, however Carol is soon crushed to learn that Doreen has found another lover and the two constantly taunt Carol, flaunting their relationship in front of her. To make matters worse, Annetta is later arrested while trying to visit her daughter and is sent to the same borstal. Thinking Carol ratted her out, Annetta vows revenge and despite protection from Eddie, a rugged fellow inmate that takes a liking to her, Carol becomes a constant target.

When viewed alongside other films in the women in prison genre, Scrubbers is an interesting watch in that Zetterling does employ various tropes associated with the genre, although not in the way that most going into a WiP film would expect which is no doubt going to frustrate many expecting something along the lines of an Italian style take on the genre. Essentially the biggest difference between Scrubbers and the more salacious titles the genre has to offer is that, grimy as some of them are and the fact that most are considered niche today, most women in prison films were commercial by design in hopes of turning a quick profit, something which was clearly not on Zetterling's mind with Scrubbers, despite the fleeting appearances of lesbianism and the borstal girls behaving unruly. Scrubbers is an incredibly downbeat film, presenting an unflinching look at inhabitants of a society that have been tossed aside, and as Zetterling has no trouble accusing, mostly due to class differences. The film may be centered around Carol and Annetta, but Zetterling spends a generous amount of time profiling several other of their borstal acquaintances and the working class struggles that unite them all couldn't be more apparent. Zetterling does attempt to lighten the mood a bit at times, mostly thanks to an inmate constantly mouthing dirty songs, yet these moments, as well as the brief bits of the girls getting a reprieve from borstal life by dancing, are ultimately cut short by the brutal reality of their situation.

Considering the material, Zetterling's direction is appropriately no frills although she does let her more surrealistic side show via dream sequences representing Annetta's desperation to see her daughter which are somewhat reminiscent of the dreams/hallucinations in Zetterling's masterpiece Doctor Glas (1968). Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the film is Zetterling's portrayal of Annetta, who could be seen as a detestable character given her actions towards Carol throughout the film are brought upon her incorrectly believing Carol sold her out, however at the same time Zetterling cleverly shows Annetta in several scenes in utter despair over the situation of her daughter, in a way reminding the audience that any rash judgment on its part could possibly be no different from the judgment of the authorities that put Annetta and the rest of the girls where they are. In her autobiography All Those Tomorrows, Zetterling wrote that her mindset going into the film was based around one word, “compassion”, after doing extensive research, even visiting several borstals, coming to the conclusion that the way of dealing with young offenders was outmoded. “Compassion” may seem like a strange word to base a women in prison film around, but the results speak for themselves. It may provoke in a manner different than some of the more famous women in prison movies, yet Scrubbers is yet another provocative work from one of Euro cinema's most undervalued provocateurs.