L'avventura

Seikkailu / Äventyret / The Adventure. IT/FR 1960. D: Michelangelo Antonioni. 141 min. The restored version by Mediaset / Compass Film etc. A Cinecittà Holding print with English subtitles viewed at Cinema Orion, 7 September 2008. - The definitive version, but print has a slightly duped look (not quite sharp). - I watched the first reel of the masterpiece only. In Rome, Anna (Lea Massari) says goodbye to his father. He has retired from his job as a diplomat (decades of lies), and is now retiring from his position as a father. In vain he warns Anna from Sandro (Gabriele Ferzetti, famous from having portrayed Casanova and Puccini). He has seen through him. Anna and Claudia (Monica Vitti) drive to Sandro, at whose home Anna seduces him to make love. They start the sea journey on a yacht to the Aeolian islands of Sicily. The sense of freedom and alienation is unique from the outset. In Antonioni's obituaries (the best of which was written by Martin Scorsese in The New York Times) this film's status as a turning-point in film history was confirmed. It taught us a new way to see.