Michelangelo Antonioni (1912–2007)

The original French title of this film ('Profession:Reporteur') gives a better idea of what this film is about, with its suggestions of being an observer rather than participant, of always being restless and moving on, of a deep form of superficiality. Basically a story of how a man tries to disappear by adopting another man's identity and then finding that man's life even harder to live, the film has two very good performances in the leads. Jack Nicholson is deeply unlikeable but very right show more for the reporter, and Maria Schneider's performance as the young woman he finds en route is more multi-dimensional than in 'Last Tango in Paris' which she made only a couple of years earlier. She has changed physically too and manages to embody distance alongside sizzling heat. The ending of the film, where the surroundings seem to swallow up life, is a masterpiece of direction.

The only thing that seems unlikely is that the 1970s Spanish police would devote so much time and effort to chasing around on the basis of very vague information about someone who is not even Spanish. But the wife's involvement lends an essential extra side to the story. show less

Revisiting the physical incarnation of memories should be banned.

Al di la delle Nuvole or Beyond the Clouds made a impact my recollection assures me was significant when I first watched this film. As an ode to a Cairean friend who died senselessly yesterday, I elected to refresh my memories of Michelangelo Antonioni's and Wim Wender's portrayal of four love stories intertwining the ephemerality of romance, the impossibility of imagined perfection, the bitterness of betrayal, and the show more seduction of the strange.

What I ended up with was a heavy-handed, platitudinous pampering to chauvinistic portrayals of the female ideal. John Malkovich was perfect as himself (what else would be expected) and Jean Reno thankfully provided comic relief. Irene Jacob was as ever ethereal. The panoramic visuals remained as beautiful as I remembered. The rest...let me remain restrained in saying "to be discarded".

As always, it is sensual gratification to experience a film using multiple languages. The added bonus was that this time I noted the original title of the book on which the film is based.

I'm curious to see whether the reading will be adequate compensation for this corruption (better still, theft) of my original wonder. show less

A mod London photographer finds something sinister when he blows up his latest shots.

It's alright, but I don't see what all the fuss is about. It probably has something to do with sex and nudity in an English-language film in the mid sixties. I get the impression that Antonioni's the kind of guy who would be offended at the suggestion that a movie should have a story, much less a good one. There is the material here to make an interesting plot, but it's deliberately avoided.

Concept: B
Story: show more D
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: B

Enjoyment: C plus

GPA: 2.5/4 show less

An idiot fan girl ditches her husband on their honeymoon.

A sit-com-type story. Amusing, but nothing special. Trieste's clownish performance is delightful.