A NEW GENRE OF MOTION PICTURE… TO MAKE YOU THINK AND FEEL.

The second film in a trilogy that began with L’Avventura (1960) starts out with a couple (Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau) visiting a dying friend at a hospital in Milan; over the following day and night they attend a few parties while their marriage teeters on the brink of collapse.

Both are attractive and have plenty of opportunity to sleep with other people, but nothing happens; their lives seem dominated by indifference and boredom. Isolation is a key theme, with characters who are never in touch with their emotions, moving around in elegant environs.

Strangely relatable, with superior cinematography and superb lead performances.

1961-Italy-France. 122 min. B/W. Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Screenplay: Michelangelo Antonioni, Ennio Flaiano, Tonino Guerra. Cinematography: Gianni Di Venanzo. Cast: Marcello Mastroianni (Giovanni Pontano), Jeanne Moreau (Lidia), Monica Vitti (Valentina Gherardini), Bernhard Wicki, Maria Pia Luzi, Rosy Mazzacurati. Cameo: Umberto Eco. 

Berlin: Golden Bear.