This was Antonioni's second in his "incommunicability" trilogy, preceded by L'AVVENTURA (1960) and followed by L'ECLISSE (1962), all featuring his then "muse" and companion, Monica Vitti. I have to take back what I said about their films together in my review of MODESTY BLAISE (1966) because Vitti, with her hair dyed black, looks ravishing here (although her role is ostensibly a supporting one).
The film's detractors might well dismiss it as "a miserable film about miserable people" but that would be negating its undeniable rewards - though its relentless solemnity does come perilously close to unintentional hilarity! Aesthetically, it's a very beautiful film (right from the memorable credits sequences, with the camera panning down a skyscraper while dissonant sounds emanate from the soundtrack) which, according to "Ciak", a renowned Italian film magazine, was one of Stanley Kubrick's favorites. In retrospect, this doesn't come as much of a surprise since its influence can clearly be seen on his final opus, EYES WIDE SHUT (1999), what with the lengthy party sequence of the Antonioni film (which takes up the entire second half) and the two leads' largely unfulfilled sexual odysseys which, eventually, bring them closer together.
The film won the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival and both female leads also emerged as winners of various awards. Though Antonioni was also criticized for rendering Marcello Mastroianni dull, I thought that he gave a fine performance; undoubtedly, the most important Italian star of his generation, he managed to divide his career neatly between "auterist" films and more popular entertainments. Of course, Jeanne Moreau was also the top French actress of her time; actually, this proved to be both actors' only time working with Antonioni before they eventually lent their services to his comeback film BEYOND THE CLOUDS (1995), following a debilitating stroke which has left him speechless to this day (now 94 years old, he's still active and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have seen him - indeed, he was seated in a wheelchair just a few paces away from me! - at the 2004 Venice Film Festival where he was 'presenting' his latest offering, the three-parter EROS). Bernhard Wicki, a director in his own right, appears towards the beginning as a dying friend of Moreau and Mastroianni whom they visit in hospital; it is here, actually, that Marcello has his first fling - with a nymphomaniac patient - thus setting the plot in motion!
The film's detractors might well dismiss it as "a miserable film about miserable people" but that would be negating its undeniable rewards - though its relentless solemnity does come perilously close to unintentional hilarity! Aesthetically, it's a very beautiful film (right from the memorable credits sequences, with the camera panning down a skyscraper while dissonant sounds emanate from the soundtrack) which, according to "Ciak", a renowned Italian film magazine, was one of Stanley Kubrick's favorites. In retrospect, this doesn't come as much of a surprise since its influence can clearly be seen on his final opus, EYES WIDE SHUT (1999), what with the lengthy party sequence of the Antonioni film (which takes up the entire second half) and the two leads' largely unfulfilled sexual odysseys which, eventually, bring them closer together.
The film won the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival and both female leads also emerged as winners of various awards. Though Antonioni was also criticized for rendering Marcello Mastroianni dull, I thought that he gave a fine performance; undoubtedly, the most important Italian star of his generation, he managed to divide his career neatly between "auterist" films and more popular entertainments. Of course, Jeanne Moreau was also the top French actress of her time; actually, this proved to be both actors' only time working with Antonioni before they eventually lent their services to his comeback film BEYOND THE CLOUDS (1995), following a debilitating stroke which has left him speechless to this day (now 94 years old, he's still active and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have seen him - indeed, he was seated in a wheelchair just a few paces away from me! - at the 2004 Venice Film Festival where he was 'presenting' his latest offering, the three-parter EROS). Bernhard Wicki, a director in his own right, appears towards the beginning as a dying friend of Moreau and Mastroianni whom they visit in hospital; it is here, actually, that Marcello has his first fling - with a nymphomaniac patient - thus setting the plot in motion!