Michelangelo Antonioni came to
world attention taking the Jury prize at Cannes in 1960 with
the release of L'Avventura, the first of a trilogy,
which also included La Notte (1960) and L'Eclipse (1962). The success of these films led to his
first international production and most commercially
successful and critically acclaimed film, the London produced Blow Up (1966) and its US produced
followup, Zabriskie Point (1970).
Il Grido
(Outcry) immediately preceded his award-winning L'Avventura, and was a transitional piece marking a
departure from the style of his previous work. The opening
sequence introduces us to Irma (Alida Valli), who after
learning of her husband's death abroad, proceeds to end the
seven year relationship she has had with Aldo (Steve Cochran)
in her husband's absence. When he learns about her husband's
death, he is at first ecstatic, thinking they can now be
married, however when told of her wishes for separation, he is
distraught, especially when he finds out she is having an
affair. Attempting a reconciliation, he publicly beats her,
and when she still insists on ending their relationship, he
leaves town with their 6-year-old daughter (Mirna Girardi as
Rosina), heading for the home of the woman he would have
married had he not become involved with Irma.
Although
initially happy to see Aldo, his former love (Betsy Blair)
eventually learns his reason for returning, and thus he
decides again to leave. His meandering journey through the
rural landscape of the Italian countryside takes him through a
number of affairs with other women, including a widowed gas
station attendant (Dorian Gray as Virginia) and a prostitute,
but despite these liaisons with other women, his heart still
yearns for Irma, but can the void left in her abscence really
be filled by returning to her?
Antonioni uses the
bleak, fog filled Po Valley as a backdrop for the film. His
immersion in the world of the lower class leaves his
characters living in poverty-stricken surroundings¡ªa tool shed
at a gas station, or a leaky hut on a sandbar in a river. It
is always foggy or rainy, the characters trudging through the
mud on rural highways or riding in the back of lorries as
hitchhikers. The pacing is slow, and the synchronization of
the Italian dialogue is distracting in many scenes. The film
does capture the sense of loss and lack of direction its
central character experiences, and performances by all the
cast are very good. The English subtitling is sparse, missing
a fair amount of dialogue, which leaves one wondering what
details are being omitted. In the end the audience is left to
assume a fair deal of the context, but can still manage to
understand the storyline, albeit without the color one would
get from the original language track.
From
DIGITALLYOBSESSED
<
BACK