Quote:
Originally Posted by llj
L'Avventura didn't give a shit about what people thought of it in 1960 (hell, it basically patented Cannes booing) and it sure isn't going to start to give a shit what people think about it now.
That's why it's awesome. Does its own thing and doesn't pander to expectations.
|
I actually do have a significantly more detailed User Review of
L'Avventura that I wrote shortly after the release of the Blu-ray, but, truth be told, my
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure reference post from yesterday is probably just as coherent of a recommendation. It's...it's just an awesome movie.
User review:
[Show spoiler]The title of Michelangelo Antonioni's 1960 film, L'Avventura (The Adventure), could refer to the yacht cruise where a young woman, Anna (Lea Massari), goes missing, it could refer to a fling between Anna's lover, Sandro (Gabriele Ferzetti), and her best friend, Claudia (Monica Vitti), that begins as they search for her, or it could refer to Claudia's personal transformation from shyness to assertiveness over the course of the story. Nothing here feels particularly adventurous at first glance, though. The mystery involving Anna's disappearance might have provided the fuel to drive another movie from beginning to end, but this film simply dismisses this plot element and focuses its attention elsewhere.
In present day terms, watching L'Avventura is almost like starting an engaging conversation with a friend at lunch, only to have the conversation interrupted when the friend answers his iPhone and ignores you in favor of texting someone else. Characters in this film are constantly distracted from one another, characters glance away from each other while talking, and characters turn their heads away when others attempt to kiss them. In this story, unanswered questions do not represent a failure of the filmmakers to fulfill our need for closure. Instead, the lack of fulfillment is the story in and of itself. The possession of wealth and the access to diversions can lead to constant distraction and detachment. L'Avventura purposely distracts the viewer in turn, by way of interactions that are seemingly unrelated to the narrative and a variety of "found objects" on the screen that come between us and the characters. Antonioni might not have attended a party where guests were constantly checking Facebook on their phones instead of interacting with one another, but his examination of affluence in postwar Italy applies just as well to present-day society.
One would imagine that such a cinematic endeavor would be a frustrating experience, but the greatness of L'Avventura is that it uses settings, backgrounds, and framing to convey the predicaments of the characters. As their amorous feelings for each other gain momentum, Sandro and Claudia are literally located on high ground, via island cliffs, church temples, and such. As they struggle to relate to one another, they are literally separated by jagged rocks, ropes, or architectural marvels behind them. After a sudden first kiss, the camera itself moves with the waves beneath a boat as if to illustrate shaky emotions. One of my favorite sequences in cinema, where Claudia opens the door of an island hut to reveal a beautiful sunrise, invites us to appreciate the beauty without allowing us to linger. Late in the film, a beautiful love scene featuring extreme closeups of the characters captures the joy of intimacy, but also keeps us at a distance by showing the back of the characters' heads during the kisses as much as it shows their faces. Our minds may not always follow the dialogue, but our eyes are shown everything that we need to know. L'Avventura is one of the most visually intuitive films in the world of cinema, in the same way that the touchpad of a smartphone is intuitive enough to divert our focus from our surroundings.
This Criterion Blu-ray sports one of the most beautiful transfers of a black-and-white film that I have seen in the Collection. The detail shines across the board, from the sight of waves crashing on a rocky shore to Monica Vitti's shoulder blade at the bottom of a deliberately skewed camera view to the images of distant mountains or volcanoes in the background of scenes. The characters may be emotionally remote, but their physical beauty is brought to the forefront in high definition. Antonioni does not utilize music in any overt way to supplement the narrative, but what is there sounds perfect to my ears, and the conversations come across crystal clear. A great commentary track by Gene Youngblood is helpful to guide newcomers across this movie's gorgeous but sometimes perplexing landscapes. A handful of documentaries and critical essays provide some insight into Antonioni's mindset during the writing and filmmaking processes.
L'Avventura is one of the better Blu-ray releases of the year. The film itself is a wonder that works best if you simply let the images wash over you to convey the narrative on conscious and subconscious levels.
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
India
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Linear Mode
