L'eclisse

Michelangelo Antonioni is an interesting director, that goes without saying. Identification of a Woman was my first glimpse into his mind, but it was Red Desert that convinced me to see more of his work.

The film that followed suit was L'eclisse, which certainly felt quite different from the other two. The reason? Well, for starters, there wasn't much of a plot. It more or less just revolved around Vittoria (Monica Vitti) and Piero (Alain Delon), two young citizens of Italy.

Vitti had very much impressed me from Red Desert, so I was curious as to what else she had done with Antonioni. Here in L'eclisse, she shows the everyday complications one usually faces. (Y'know, relationships, maintaining a stable life, things like that.) Granted, Vittoria isn't unstable like Giuliana, but she doesn't have a better grasp on reality than her.

Personally, Delon showed his best work when under the direction of Luchino Visconti (see Rocco and His Brothers and The Leopard for proof), but Antonioni got some good work out of him. Delon is essentially the pretty boy charmer here but he does get several good scenes here and there. (Though he's overshadowed by Vitti kind of easily.)

L'eclisse is quite good but I didn't love it as much as Red Desert. As stated above, Vitti and Delon are good. But apparently, this is part of a so-called trilogy with L'avventura and La notte. Maybe I should check those out too...

My Rating: ****

Red Desert

It's established early on in Michelangelo Antonioni's Red Desert that Giuliana (Monica Vitti) is a woman on the verge of mental collapse. But from what precisely? The lack of her husband's presence? The constantly changing world around her? Both?

Antonioni decides to explore both possibilities. Indeed, Giuliana's husband is at work throughout a majority of the film, so we understand why she feels so alone. Every day, she's left alone with their son and her insecurities. It's only a matter of time before her insecurities make her unravel completely.

The other possibility is the environment Giuliana is trapped in is slowly driving her mad. Machinery rising to the heavens, skies filling with poisonous smoke, the never-ending clanging of metal...this is also what Giuliana has to endure every day. Another clear understanding as to why she's going to pieces.

Thanks to cinematographer Carlo Di Palma, he makes the world Giuliana's a part of both horrendous and beautiful. The red factory pipes, the yellow smoke, Giuliana's green coat...they all make the film look alive and dead. (I wonder if any later films took such a cue.)

Red Desert is a brilliant film that could be relevant even to today's standards. (Global warming and industrialization, y'know?) Vitti gives a brave performance of someone on the breaking point and unable to do anything about it. It was a daring film back in 1964 and it still is forty-nine years later.

My Rating: *****

Identification of a Woman

Niccolo (Tomas Milian), the protagonist of Michelangelo Antonioni's Identification of a Woman, is similar to that of Guido from Federico Fellini's 8 1/2. Both of their lives are at a standstill, both professionally and personally.

Guido has difficulty balancing his professional and personal lives. He has his film sorted out, but he just has no desire to make it. Throw in the fact his mind is almost never in the present or in reality, and it's clear to see why he's viewed as odd by some.

Now Niccolo is different. He is more focused on his personal life, especially since he's a recent divorcee. He's not only trying to get his life back on track, he's also trying to find inspiration for his next film. He's looking for it in the form of a woman's face.

Both men are similar in the sense that they need emotional (but mostly sexual) support from women. In fact, women play a key role in their lives. Guido had women leave an impact on him throughout his life; Niccolo just wants them for the sake of his work. The parallels between the two men could go and on, but I'll stop it here.

Back to the film itself. With this being my first glimpse into the inner workings of Antonioni's mind, I really had no idea what to look forward to. Was I satisfied? Sort of, but not on a grand scale. However, it did make me want to seek out other Antonioni films.

My Rating: ****