Film Review
Michelangelo Antonioni's third full-length film is this cleverly updated version of Alexandre
Dumas fils's novel
La Dame aux caméllias,
with the central role of the prostitute replaced, tellingly, with that of an actress.
Although this is a comparatively minor entry in the director's oeuvre,
it shows the emergence of his essential tropes that would attain
fruition in his subseqent masterpieces
L'Avventura (1960) and
La Notte (1961).
Typical of Antonioni's cinema, the performances are subdued, the feelings of
the characters conveyed not by words or gestures but by the environment that contains them,
an environment that is defined by
the striking black and white photography, set designs and and slick camerawork - the
outer space expressing inner moods, almost in the manner of German expressionism.
Along with his contemporaries, Fellini and Visconti, Antonioni
would bring about a dramatic renaissance in Italian cinema
in the 1950s and 1960s, extending the visual power of the neo-realists
by embracing modernist styles that permitted new modes of
expression. Whereas neo-realism was concerned mainly with
external realities, the new cinema of Antonioni and his peers was
more focussed on the inner world of feeling and subjective experience.
Interestingly, both Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren
turned down the leading role in this film. The part went to Lucia Bose,
the star of Antonioni's first film,
Cronaca di un amore (1950).
© James Travers 2007
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Michelangelo Antonioni film:
L'Avventura (1960)
Film Synopsis
Stardom comes too quickly for Clara Manni. Leaving her parents' drapers shop in
Milan, she becomes a film star overnight, thanks to a small role in a film. Her
producer, Gianni, quickly derails a promising career, however. Passionately in love
with Clara, he imposes marriage on her and forbids her to appear in another film unless
it is worthy of her talents. Gianni finally finds her such a role - as Joan of Arc
in his next big budget picture. The film is a disaster and Gianni is ruined.
Clara leaves him and goes off with a young diplomat, Nardo, who has come to love her through
her films. With Nardo's encouragement, Clara restarts her acting career, the hard
way.
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.