L'Avventura (1960)
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni

Film Review

L'Avventura is the film that established the reputation of Italian film director Michelangelo Antonioni and heralded a new era of modernism in Italian cinema in the early 1960s, a worthy successor to neo-realism.  The film represents a major shift in the essence of cinematic art, with artistic style assuming far greater importance over narrative content.  Antonioni's innovation is the way in which he creates bold relationships between his (usually expressionless) characters and the spaces they inhabit. His characters are defined more by where they are than by what they say or do. Whilst this does make his films appear artificial, almost dream-like, it has the effect that surface impressions reinforce states of inner mood and conflict - a kind of cinematic impressionism.

The mastery with which Antonioni meticulously composes every shot and the sheer beauty of the high-contrast photography makes the film extraordinarily alluring, yet it is only when you look beneath the surface and begin to make sense of what is being said that the director's genius becomes apparent.   Antonioni's films are like an expanse of calm water on a bright summer's day - tranquil and inviting on its glistening surface, yet beneath lies a howling maelstrom of forces that will drag a man to his doom. Antonioni seems to be content with showing us the surface - the rest is left largely to our imagination.

L'Avventura is a masterpiece of existentialist art - one that explores the human psyche with depth and intelligence, conveying the ephemeral nature of love and the powerful psychological forces that often make the experience of love an ordeal with far-reaching consequences.  It is also a comment on the sexual mores of its era, portraying the prevailing attitudes to free love with - at the time - shocking honesty.  Claudia (played by the mesmeric Monica Vitti) is one of the first of cinema's truly liberated female characters - a woman who is aware of the power of her sexuality, who isn't prepared to submit unquestioningly to the dominant male, who is restrained not by social conscience but by her own guilt-ridden instincts.

Although it is now almost universally regarded as a landmark in Italian cinema, L'Avventura hasn't always enjoyed the unanimous praise of the critics.  During its preview screening at the Cannes film festival, it was booed by a far from satisfied audience, and the film was condemned for its unconventionally slow pace and apparent lack of substance.   It certainly isn't the most accessible of films - its appeal is probably limited to a minority of film enthusiasts who like their films to have a high art content and who take pleasure in making their own interpretation of its ambiguous messages.  Although it was controversial when it was first released, L'Avventura did have an immediate effect.  It put Michelangelo Antonioni in the vanguard of a new generation of filmmakers across the world who would reinvent cinema in the 1960s and make a lasting impact.

L'Avventura forms a loose trilogy with Antonioni's subsequent films La Notte (1961) and L'Eclisse (1962) - all three films offering a stark existentialist view of romantic love, with Monica Vitti taking a leading role in each film.

Film Synopsis

A party of wealthy holiday makers from Rome are enjoying a yachting excursion off the coast of Sicily.  Soon after they arrive on a deserted volcanic island, one of the group - a young woman named Anna - mysteriously disappears.  Her best friend, Claudia, and her boyfriend Sandro make a thorough search of the island and the neighbouring mainland - without any success.  Anna's absence has the effect of bringing Claudia and Sandro together, but it could also drive them apart...