This is the last in a trilogy of films about alienation by the well know Italian director, Michelangelo Antionelli in the 1960's. He was an aficionado of the slow film movement, which favored very long takes, dramatic lighting, and not much in the way of dialogue to convey the story. The movie has very little dialogue and almost no action, but the cinematography is so spectacular that it takes your breath away.
Since I am in the midst of what is essentially Film Analysis 101, I have to say that the length of each shot (which is typically about 6 seconds, now down to 3-4 seconds in the 21st century, and significantly longer in this movie) really allows you to appreciate that as few as 10-12 seconds can seem like forever. The main characters are Vittoria and Pietro--their story is told not so much with narration as with their body language, the looks that they give each other, and their persistent approach-avoidance relationship.
As the viewer, you do get the sense that something is very wrong between them, and after a spectacular scene at the stock market where there is a devestating crash and lots of money lost, one does get the sense that money and modern society has something to do with it. But it was all a little deeply hidden for me. The ending is the most abrupt thing of all. We see places that Vittoria and Pietro have been together, but now they are missing. The end.
No comments:
Post a Comment