L'Avventura
d. Michelangelo Antonioni, 1960
Michelangelo Antonioni's L'Avventura ("The Adventure"), arguably the most startling of modern films, has had so much written about it that it seems kind of pointless to throw out more superlatives. Nevertheless, watching L'Avventura has surely been one of the highlights of my movie-watching experience, and there are plenty reasons to try to seek out this classic. First of all, it is certainly a beautiful film. Antonioni's stark, black-and-white compositions are in top form here, and he uses plenty of exotic locations (particularly the opening island and water sequences) to contrast the detached mindset of his rich characters. Plot doesn't really play a big part in the film, to the viewer it registers more like a series of haunting portrayals of modern ennui. But briefly, the film follows some rich couples as they go on a boating trip to some island. Anna (Lea Massari) wanders off from the group and is never found again, the rest of the couples move on as if nothing ever happened. Her boyfriend, Sandro (Gabriele Ferzetti) quickly makes advances on Anna's best friend, Claudia (the beautiful Monica Vitti). That's pretty much all the story in this 145-minute film. But it's not as if it ever gets tedious, Antonioni's mastery of the form guides the fascinated viewer along effortlessly. For all its brilliance, L'Avventura still falls short of Antonioni's 1962 film L'Eclisse ("Eclipse"), which also stars Vitti as a young woman in the midst of existential crisis. For whatever reason, if you ever want to see the most artistic and beautiful portrayals of modern ennui ever put on film, rent L'Avventura and L'Eclisse.
