520. Zabriskie Point (1970)

Running Time: 110 minutes
Directed By: Michelangelo Antonioni
Written By: Michelangelo Antonioni, Franco Rossetti, Sam Shepard, Tonino Guerra, Clare Peploe
Main Cast: Mark Frechette, Daria Halprin, Rod Taylor

ANTONIONI WEEK: THE FINAL CHAPTER

You know as much as I disliked some of Antonioni's films, I think that it's awesome that I get to end out his series on a high note, with an amazing film like "Zabriskie Point". I went in expecting to hate it, but instead I was treated to ONE OF the most beautiful pictures I've ever seen.

Cast-wise, this is pretty much a two person film and first up we meet Mark (Frechette), a college student who takes up with a group of radicals and cites that he's "willing to die for the cause". During a student protest, many students are arrested and when Mark tries to bail some of his cohorts out of jail, he only lands himself in the clink. Upon their release, Mark and his roommate's arm themselves with guns in preparation for the next protest. During a standoff between students and police, Mark gets a clear shot at a police officer, but before he can fire, someone beats him to it. Mark runs, figuring he'll be framed for the shooting otherwise. He ends up stealing a helicopter and fleeing the scene. In the meantime, Daria is a secretary working for Mr. Lee Allen of Sunny Dunes real estate. Daria's story begins with her driving from Los Angeles to Phoenix for a business conference with her boss. Along the way, she is sidetracked by a low flying helicopter, who ultimately forces her to pull over. Inside the helicopter? - Mark.

I wasn't looking forward to "Zabriskie Point" in the slightest. I popped it in and for the next two hours was taken back to the 60s via some absolutely gorgeous photography. I was born in 1984, but I've always been fascinated by the era of the 60s. To me, there always seemed to be something magical about that time period, when some of the best musicians, filmmakers and people were rocking it in their prime. "Zabriskie Point" really gives you a peek inside the era of the "flower children".

To be honest, "Zabriskie Point" is one of those films I liked, but it's hard for me to explain why. Everything just sort of seemed to mesh together really well for me and keep me interested. I thought the scene in Zabriskie Point where Mark and Daria make love was one of the most beautiful scenes ever filmed and one of the most tactful sex scenes I've seen also. To me their was a type of freedom associated with this film. Seeing sprawling deserts and open roads, I could almost smell the fresh, dusty desert air as I watched in wonderment. It was also a movie where not everything was laid out plain as day, but I just didn't see any need to start drawing conclusions and interpretations, but rather just let the film overtake me and enjoy it for what it was on the surface.

A WORD OR TWO ABOUT MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI

I went into this series of six films with excitement, hoping that I'd come out with a new found favorite director. Unfortunately that wasn't the end result and what I came out with was actually a bit of jealousy. Jealousy for the people who appreciate Antonioni's films. I said in an earlier review, I wish, just for a few hours, I could borrow the eyeballs of the people that appreciate Antonioni's work and take in these films, see what they see. However, everything isn't for everyone and we all have different tastes. What I label as masterpieces, you might label as garbage and vice versa. I think the saving grace in the entire Michelangelo Antonioni watching was that I really liked one of them (Zabriskie Point) and maybe someday when I re-watch "Zabriskie Point" and like it even more, I'll say to myself, "Hey, maybe I should give his films another shot." and maybe then, with time, I can appreciate them.

RATING: 8.5/10 Beautiful film and my obvious choice for best Antonioni film of the six.

MOVIES WATCHED: 255
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 746

April 16, 2011 6:06pm

448. BLOWUP (1966)

Running Time: 111 minutes
Directed By: Michelangelo Antonioni
Written By: Michelangelo Antonioni, Tonino Guerra, Edward Bond, from story by Julio Cortazar
Main Cast: David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, John Castle, Jane Birkin

ANTONIONI WEEK: CHAPTER FIVE

We're coming to a close on the "Antonioni Week" festivities and today I watched the most anticipated of the lot, "Blowup". I had heard so many great things about this film and was totally ready to let it engulf me, but as Antonioni's films have come to do, it only disappointed.

The main character is Thomas (Hemmings), a hip, London photographer who has a penchant for snapping scantily clad, stick thin models. Thomas is getting ready to publish a book of his photos and heads to a nearby park in London to see if he can capture the grand finale shot that will appear in the book. While strolling through the park and taking pictures of pigeons and landscapes, he spots a couple who seem to be enjoying an intimate day out. Wanting to capture their romance, he follows them, hiding behind trees and fences and snapping away like a skilled marksman. He is eventually caught by the woman and when she begs for him to hand over the photographs, he refuses. Later, she shows up at his apartment, again requesting the photos and after some flirtation between the two he hands over a fake film canister, making her think she has the photos. However, Thomas still has them and upon developing them, he notices that there may have been someone else in the park that day. He notices a man, behind some bushes, who appears to be wielding a gun. After blowing up the photos, he also notices the dead body of the man whom he snapped in the park and he soon realizes that he's inadvertently photographed a murder.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

What a HUGE disappointment Michelangelo Antonioni has turned out to be. I realize we're not done yet, but why even hold out hope that the final Antonioni film will be anything short of dull? Here, Antonioni gives us a fantastic premise: A hotshot photographer inadvertently snaps a murder. It's as simple as that. However, we don't even get into that until a full hour of the film has gone by. Taking up that first hour is a whole lot of pointless drivel, that never really tends to amount to anything. Even when we do get into the thick of things, Antonioni makes sure to stop the flow by having Thomas roll around on the floor with a couple of naked, giggling girls.

When I finished the film, I did a little research and found that the whole plot may have just been a part of Thomas' imagination and that in reality there was no murder and that Thomas simply dreamed the whole thing up. If that's the case, then it was totally lost on me. See that's the thing about Antonioni films though, you have to pay extra special attention, because the man isn't going to give the meaning to his films up willingly. You're going to have to latch on to every single clue you get and when the film is over, you have to put those clues together and try to make sense of the picture as a whole. I guess this one just didn't entice me enough, because I obviously missed some things if the film is meant to be an imagining. Of course, you can never really be too sure, when it comes to Antonioni. Michelangelo is a very ambiguous filmmaker and maybe the film was an imagining or maybe it wasn't. Antonioni leaves that up to the viewer to decide and the only thing that I decided was that the film didn't do a whole lot for me. If I was forced to decide as to whether or not a murder actually occurred in the confines of the film, I'd say "yes", I think a murder did occur and here's why:

Up until the point that Thomas finds the clues that lead him to believe there has been a murder, he is a very pompous fellow. He drives his Rolls Royce, tells models that want his attention where to go and screams at the models that do work for him. In the simplest for, he is an asshole. Then he starts to conjure up this murder business and for a good stretch we get a very limited amount of dialogue. Following that, Thomas actually discovers a corpse in the park and by the end of the film, he seems to change. I see a man who, for the better part of his adult life, has hid behind the lens of a camera. I found it odd that Thomas didn't take his camera with him and snap the corpse he found or the mimes that he saw "playing tennis". I think that Thomas did uncover a murder and that being that close to death, made him appreciate the world around him even more. Thomas was a guy who forced himself to hunt for interesting things to take pictures of, when in the end, I think he realizes that there are interesting things all around him...like mimes playing pretend tennis...and instead of exploiting their innocent romp, in the end Thomas simply sits back and watches things unfold with his own eyes.

RATING: 4.5/10 For all my griping there was something there, but not a lot. I'll definitely have to watch this one again someday, but for now consider it a big thumbs down. Next and last in the Antonioni series: "Zabriskie Point"

MOVIES WATCHED: 254
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 747

April 15, 2011 5:33pm

423. Il deserto rosso/The Red Desert (1964)

Running Time: 120 minutes
Directed By: Michelangelo Antonioni
Written By: Michelangelo Antonioni, Tonino Guerra
Main Cast: Monica Vitti, Richard Harris, Carlo Chionetti, Xenia Valderi, Rita Renoir

ANTONIONI WEEK: CHAPTER FOUR

Moving right along with "Antonioni Week", we come to Michelangelo's first color feature and one that didn't make me cringe as much as its predecessors. While I wasn't able to fully comprehend the meaning of "Red Desert", I was still just as intrigued.

Relaying the plot of "Red Desert" is going to be hard for me, because to me there really wasn't much of a plot here and what I took away from the film was more of an emotional experience than anything else. Giuliana (Vitti) has recently been released from the hospital following an attempt to commit suicide. The film opens with images of factories and smoke stacks and as the film progresses, we gather that there must be some sort of factory strike going on. Giuliana lives with her husband, Ugo (Chionetti) and their son. Ugo is a factory director and when his colleague Mr. Zeller (Harris) comes to town to negotiate a deal, he and Giuliana form a connection, although as far as I can tell the connection is never validated and takes the form of friendship and sexual as the film progresses. Giuliana still isn't 100% stable and still seems to be in a deep state of depression as she ponders things like the meaning of life and worries about seemingly nonsensical things.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

I haven't done any research on this film, as I write this, so I'm writing to you as someone who has only seen the film and been given an hour to toss different ideas and theories around his head. It's rare that a film perplexes me so much, that I can't decide whether I like it or dislike it. I guess if I even have to ask, then it must have been intriguing enough to be considered a positive experience. I don't mean any offense to Antonioni fans, but to me his films are very pointless and its almost as though he's making films to satisfy fantasies or ideas that he himself had and that he is the only one who truly understands every aspect of his own films. I just have a really hard time wrapping my head around his films, comprehending them, figuring out his metaphors or figuring out the motives of his characters. It's almost as if these films are being birthed in some fantasy world, where logical thinking isn't a must. While I didn't hate "Red Desert" I'd still classify it as pretty as a pretty pointless film. There were so many things that were happening, scenes that were playing out that I just couldn't make heads or tails of and didn't know why they were happening or what they meant.

However, the film really pulled me in and I was definitely intrigued. Why I was intrigued, I have no idea. There's not really something that I can put my finger on and say, "I liked this film or was intrigued by this film, because...". It just had an element about it that made me want to know what the outcome for Giuliana was going to be. I kept waiting for the ending to come and waiting for Giuliana to succeed in her attempt to kill herself. I was drawn to the character, but can't tell you why. I felt so sorry for the character when she goes to Zeller for help and he takes advantage of her, basically raping her, in her moment of severe distress.

I'm going to wrap it up there, because I have a feeling a lot of my thoughts aren't coming together very clearly and that I'm not making a whole lot of sense. Suffice it to say that I was deeply intrigued by the film, but still had a hard time understanding it. That's not a bad thing, in my book.

RATING: 6/10 I give it definite points for at least keeping me wrapped in it for the duration, unlike Antonioni's other films that just seemed to lose me at certain points and never regain my interest. Next up: "Blow-Up".

MOVIES WATCHED: 251
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 750

April 12, 2011 6:33pm

386. L'Eclisse/The Eclipse (1962)

Running Time: 125 minutes
Directed By: Michelangelo Antonioni
Written By: Michelangelo Antonioni, Elio Bartolini, Tonino Guerra, Ottiero Ottieri
Main Cast: Monica Vitti, Alain Delon, Francisco Rabal, Louis Seigner, Lilla Brignone

ANTONIONI WEEK: CHAPTER THREE

This is the final film in what is considered a loosely based trilogy of movies (including "L'Avventura" and "La Notte") by Michelangelo Antonioni. Having watched the entire trilogy, I'd have to definitively say that "L'Eclisse" was, by far, the worst one of the group.

The film is basically plot-less, but I'll do my best to recount the story that this film tried to tell. Vittoria (Vitti) and Riccardo (Rabal) begin the film and it is revealed that they've been up all night talking about the status of their relationship. Ultimately, when the morning comes, Vittoria makes it clear that she no longer wants to have a relationship with Riccardo and despite his protests, they break it off. Vittoria goes home and later that day visits her mother at the stock market to tell her the news. Her mother is addicted to the buying and selling on the stock exchange and in the heat of the day's trading, her mother could care less. While at the stock market she meets up with Piero (Delon), a stockbroker, whom she introduces herself to and then leaves. Later, as Piero and Vittoria continue to meet, Piero grows fonder of her and despite her hesitations and misgivings, she falls in love with him too.

I'm going to approach "L'Eclisse" a little differently in giving my opinions about it. When I received "L'Eclisse" in the mail from Netflix, almost by reflex, I read the slip cover that accompanies all DVD's that you get from Netflix...Here's what it said:

Michelangelo Antonioni's trilogy ends with this haunting, starkly modern meditation on love. Tracing the trajectory of one relationship, "L'Eclisse" (aka The Eclipse) follows the exploits of a woman (Monica Vitti) who craves deep and abiding affection. Convinced that the man she's with (Francisco Rabal) can't give her what she needs, she leaves him, only to begin an affair with another (Alain Delon). But their trysts threaten to engulf them all.

By reading that, I actually get really excited for this film. I've seen an Alain Delon film once before in "Le Samourai" and thought he was great, so I was excited to see him again. Monica Vitti has proved that she's not a terrible actress, so we're two for three in our leads and that's enough to make for some good acting. I'm thinking the film obviously doesn't sound like there's a whole lot going on, so my initial thoughts lead me to believe that there will be some real opportunity for some shining dialogue scenes, some opportunity for some really melancholic tones, as the film is about love and failed relationships. It's an Italian film, buy a supposed master, so some great camera work/beautiful images are surely a given. So, to say that least, I'm pretty stoked about this one...Boy was I mislead.

Now maybe I shouldn't be taking the word of Netflix slip covers to base my initial thoughts for a film, but I read them so that I can kind of get a picture for what the film is about, so I don't go in blind. I was wrong on pretty much every front. There were dialogue scenes, but I wouldn't call them great and a lot of the dialogue was really pretentious. There were two, what I would consider wasted scenes, taking place in the stock market, that totally seemed to stray away from the real purposes of the film, which to me the ultimate purpose of the film was Vittoria and her attempt to find that great affection that she'd been searching for, but couldn't seem to grasp. The images weren't necessarily beautiful and the acting was average at best.

Let me say that I was really excited for this whole trilogy of films. I really thought that I was going to get blown away on three separate occasions and when I DID find out that we were dealing with a trilogy of films, I thought, "Cool, this could be three films that could have all the potential in the world and for an extra kicker, they're loosely based around the same ideas/themes." I went to the IMDB message boards after I watched the film and tried to make a little sense of the ending. I'm not sure I figured out what Antonioni is trying to say, but I was literally jealous hearing everyone gush about how great these three films are. I wanted, for just a couple of hours, to borrow the eyes of the people who were experiencing greatness from Antonioni's work and re-watch the films so that I could get in on some of this greatness. But, in reality that's not possible and I'm left to suffer with the memories of watching "L'Eclisse", which was not only the worst Antonioni film thus far, but probably one of the worst films from the book thus far. I'll be honest guys, I really tuned myself out of this film at about the ninety minute mark, because by then it had been too much to handle. Every film deserves my full attention, but I could only muster enough attention to give this film what it deserved.

RATING: 2/10 Maybe someday, when I'm older, I'll rewatch this trilogy and find some of that greatness that I missed. As far as best film of the trilogy, "La Notte" gets that distinction, hands down. Here's hoping that the last three Antonioni films are A LOT better. Next up is "Red Desert".

MOVIES WATCHED: 248
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 753

April 8, 2011 11:16am

374. La Notte/The Night (1961)

Running Time: 115 minutes
Directed By: Michelangelo Antonioni
Written By: Michelangelo Antonioni, Ennio Flaiano, Tonino Guerra
Main Cast: Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau, Monica Vitti, Bernhard Wicki

ANTONIONI WEEK: CHAPTER TWO

For those of you that care, this is the 300th post of the "1001 Movies I (Apparently) Must See Before I Die" blog. When I first started this blog, back in September 2009, I really wasn't sure if it would last more than a handful of posts and now I'm positive that I'm going to see this project through to the very end. Anyway, on to the business at hand..."La Notte".

This is the second film in Antonioni's loosely based trilogy of alienation and it stars Marcello Mastroianni as Giovanni. Giovanni is a writer and is married to Lidia (Moreau). The film begins with the couple going to visit an ailing friend in the hospital. Upon their departure, Giovanni returns home, while Lidia wanders the streets of Milan. Eventually the couple find each other again at home, and Lidia makes it known that she's tired of staying in all the time. Giovanni suggests they go to a party that is taking place on that night, and Lidia agrees. Once in the car, however, Lidia decides she'd rather spend some time with Giovanni alone and they go to a small cafe, where they watch some expressionist artists act out some hypnotic movements. Lidia tries her best to strike conversation with her husband, but he seems disinterested and ultimately the two decide to attend the party. At the party, the two split up rather quickly and find themselves taken by others - Giovanni is entranced by Valentina (Vitti), while Lidia tries her best to ward off a mystery man that won't stop eying her.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

Without a doubt, I liked "La Notte" better than "L'Avventura", but I'm still not sold on the supposed greatness of Michelangelo Antonioni. My liking for "La Notte" seemed to come in small doses and there was a big chunk in the middle where the film really got slow and stale. I REALLY enjoyed the scene where Giovanni is seduced by an apparent mental patient, as he departs the hospital at the beginning of the film and this is possibly the best scene in the film. There are other key scenes that really seemed to suck me in and totally allow me to get lost in the film. The black male and female at the cafe where Giovanni and Lidia go, are absolutely hypnotic, as they sway around the middle of the floor to some sweet jazz accompaniment. I liked the ending too and how it was left open to interpretation...I'll get to my interpretations in a moment.

However, other than those particular scenes and maybe a few others, there was a lot of, what seemed like, wasted time. In my opinion, Antonioni and his collaborators on the film should've picked a location for the film and set the entire movie there. The better part of an hour is taken up when Giovanni and Lidia attend the party and the film doesn't end until they leave the party. It seems like the entire film is set in two or three locations and in the end, it just doesn't seem very balanced. Also I had a real problem with the dialogue. It just didn't seem very real and the conversations were full of intellect that just didn't seem to portray how people really carry themselves in conversation. In fact, the only scenes that seemed to really portray how people really talk was the entire scene in the hospital and the ending and the exchange between Giovanni and Lidia - the rest just seemed like a bunch of trumped up mumbo jumbo.

On the other hand (the hand that liked this film), I think the whole loneliness and alienation angle really came through more clearly in this one, as opposed to "L'Avventura". I also felt that the characters were more defined and that they really seemed to be shallow characters that didn't embrace the thought of feeling any emotions. It's not until the end that they really expose their souls and show that they are actually human. After writing that last line, I'm starting to think that all of that intellectual "mumbo jumbo" talk was intentional and maybe in the end, we're meant to really see this couple for who they really are.

In the end, Giovanni begs Lidia to continue loving him and Lidia pleads with Giovanni to tell her that "he doesn't love her". He pins her against the ground and the film pans away as Giovanni tries relentlessly to make-up with Lidia. It seems to me that, not until Lidia tells Giovanni that they are through as a married couple, does he truly realize the damage he's done to her and the pain he's really caused her. In my view, Giovanni truly regrets his actions in the end and it's my hope that Lidia sees this and ultimately takes him back.

RATING: 5.5/10 It was better than "L'Avventura", but still, I can only put it just above the average marker. Here's hoping "L'Eclisse is even better.

MOVIES WATCHED: 246
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 755

April 6, 2011 11:05pm

359. L'Avventura/The Adventure (1960)

Running Time: 145 minutes
Directed By: Michelangelo Antonioni
Written By: Michelangelo Antonioni, Elio Bartolini, Tonino Guerra
Main Cast: Gabriele Ferzetti, Monica Vitti, Lea Massari, Dominique Blanchar, Renzo Ricci

Note: For those who are having similar Blogger spacing problems, like I was, it may help you to know that downloading and using Firefox to make your blog posts will cure the problem. Thank God that's fixed...Now on to the business at hand.

ANTONIONI WEEK: CHAPTER ONE

Today we begin our small quest inside of a quest to watch all of the Michelangelo Antonioni films from the "1001..." book. Our first film was possibly his most popular and the one that got the full page, black and white photo in the "1001..." book. However, it's also one that I really, really didn't like.

The film starts out and seemingly introduces us to the female who will play our main character, Anna (Massari). She is headed out on a cruise with a group of her wealthy friends, including her boyfriend Sandro (Ferzetti), of whom her father doesn't approve. The group finally get on their merry way and seem to be having a good time, frolicking around on the vessel in their bathing suits and having a few laughs. When Anna gets a sudden impulse to jump overboard and go for a swim, the vessel is stopped and when all passengers re-aboard, the group decides to get out at a small island. Upon their arrival at the island, they all get out and Anna & Sandro have a small quarrel. It seems that their long distance relationship isn't quite working out as Anna had hoped. Before too long Anna goes missing and despite her friends screaming her name, she doesn't answer. Ultimately, after scouring the island and finding nothing, the group (with the exception of Claudia and Sandro) go to the next island to get help. Claudia (Vitti) and Sandro stay behind, hoping that Anna will show up, but winding up getting themselves into their own little mess...love.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

I had a lot of problems with "L'Avventura", so let's not waste time. I think my biggest downfall, when it came to "L'Avventura" is that it was an Italian film, and when I think of Italian cinema, I think of beautiful pictures, sexy women and artistic film making. Antonioni had the "sexy women" part down pat, but when it came to the other elements, I just wasn't seeing a lot of beauty or artistry. Now I'm sure most of you will call "FOOL" and say that this film was loaded with artistic value, but it must've been lost on yours truly, because there was little to nothing artistic about "L'Avventura". I also found it quite amusing that at the beginning of the film a title card is flashed saying something to the effect of "L'Avventura" being recognized at the Cannes Film Festival for the beauty that it portrays. I'm sorry, but I found nothing beautiful about the images in "L'Avventura". I mean, maybe I was just really spoiled by Federico Fellini, but this film just looked very ordinary to me and please remember that is only an opinion...you don't have to share it.

In fact, speaking of ordinary film making, I'd say that a lot of the film fell very short of hitting that exceptional level, as I found the actors to linger in the average zone, the script to be poor, the artistic value to be non-existent and the movie as a whole very boring and way too long.

There was just nothing appealing going on as far as the story goes. Am I really supposed to believe that a woman disappears and her best friend and lover spend a few hours looking for her and then decide that they make a pretty good match, so they'll just be a couple now and forget the disappearing girl? That's another thing - I mentioned "a few hours", but was it really a few hours? I had a real problem figuring out how much time had passed in the whole film. At times I thought we had jumped forward weeks, or even months, but then the dialogue seemed to suggest that we were still days away from Anna's disappearance.

And speaking of "the disappearing girl", what happened to her? Did Antonioni forget to resolve that "little" issue, that just happened to be a major plot point in his film? Am I supposed to like or somehow relate to the characters of Sandro and Claudia, even though they prove what heinous people they are by totally forgetting their loved one and striking up a fling in her absence? I know, I'm asking a lot of questions, but that's fitting for a film that left me asking one MAJOR question and that's...How did this movie receive all the acclaim it has? I just don't get it. Maybe the whole film was just lost on me and I just didn't get it. Maybe there was a grand, underlying theme or message that just wasn't coming across to me. Maybe there was artistry in there and to my eyes it wasn't art at all. I don't know - what I do know is that I did not like "L'Avventura" and to those of you that do, I'm glad you've found something in a film, that just so happens to be lost on me...and I sincerely mean that.

RATING: 3/10 Well the average marker is '5' and this film wasn't average in my book, so a '3' is more than fitting, if you ask me. Next up "La Notte" and then "L'Eclisse", which together with "L'Avventura" are supposed to make up a trilogy...Hopefully the trilogy gets better.

MOVIES WATCHED: 245
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 756

April 5, 2011 1:09am