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Cronaca di un amore (1950) More at IMDbPro »

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18 out of 22 people found the following comment useful :-
Film noir excellence, 11 April 2002
Author: (prs10@adam.com.au) from adelaide south australia

A rich older man's belated desire to investigate his beautiful wilful young wife' mysterious past reignites old passions with tragic consequences. For those viewers who are uncertain of Antonioni's capacity to make enjoyably great films, this may be a revelation especially if you have a penchant for post-WW2 film noir with its attendant malaise and melancholia. With suitable B&W photography and accompanying musical score and boasting one of the screen's great beauties, Lucia Bose, in her prime, this film is a masterpiece.

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5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Story of a love affair!, 8 October 2007

Author: andrabem from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

"Cronaca di un amore" was Antonioni's first full-length film. It's a romantic film noir, full of passion, but very far from the Hollywood saccharine romanticism.

It begins almost as a police film: an investigation is being led about Paola Molon. A detective is walking around, asking questions about her.

Seven years ago, Paola (Lucia Bosé) was in love with Guido (Massimo Girotti). Guido was engaged to Paola's best female friend, but there was already love between Guido and Paola. Still, one day a tragic accident happens. And this accident will tear Guido and Paola apart. And now this investigation will reunite them again. Their love is rekindled.

Paola is now married to a wealthy entrepreneur, lives in a mansion, has servants, a car with chauffeur etc.., but Guido' life has been a constant struggle to make ends meet. (Remember that we are in 1950, some years after the end of the war, and Italy was still far away from her economic boom).....

"Cronaca di un amore" shows already Antonioni as an accomplished master. His eye for small details be it in interior or exterior scenes, his ability in directing actors, his sensitive use of land and cityscape - all these qualities are displayed in full force in the film.

Lucia Bosé is an outstanding actress - she is able to portray intense and contradictory emotions just by her facial expressions. Her acting is subtle and powerful. She's a real diva. Giovanni Fusco's soundtrack is a perfect companion to Antonioni's images.

"Cronaca di un amore" is a very beautiful film.

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
STORY OF A LOVE AFFAIR (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1950) ***, 31 August 2007

Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta

Antonioni’s belated feature-film debut is a fine romantic melodrama which is actually a variation on a favorite noir theme – that of the lovers planning to dispose of a third party who stands between them. Another genre device adopted here is the investigative framework – with the intended victim himself, the girl’s husband, suddenly deciding to pry into her past.

Paradoxically, the young couple had been involved in the ‘accidental’ death of the man’s ex-girlfriend – and, unaware of the source behind the current investigation, are afraid that the old ‘crime’ has come back to haunt them! Antonioni’s coup, then, is in the way that the couple are so blinded by their passion for each other – they’ve been brought together anew by a letter informing them of the investigation, after having opted to go their separate ways so as not to arouse suspicion over the death of their common acquaintance – that they don’t realize that history is about to repeat itself. Even if they succeed in getting rid of the girl’s husband, they still can’t be together: the final irony is that the husband’s death occurs in spite of themselves in a road accident – but the girl has no way of knowing this and, when the police arrive at her house bearing the tragic news, she panics and flees...

Still, the central relationship isn’t the most solid: the couple even admit to themselves that, hadn’t the letter of warning been sent, their paths would probably never have crossed again; besides, the girl expects the man to tolerate the fact that she married someone else – but, whenever she sees him in the company of an attractive model, she works up a jealous temper! The two stars are very well cast: in a career spanning six decades (with appearances in everything from Art-house to peplums and “Euro-Cult”), Massimo Girotti was one of the most durable of Italian leading men – actually, he had played a similar role to the one here in another important debut in Italian cinema, Luchino Visconti’s OSSESSIONE (1943). Lucia Bose' was not only a top star (particularly during the 1950s) but one of the loveliest female presences ever in Italian cinema – again, her filmography has been quite varied and included performances for such renowned masters of World Cinema as Luis Bunuel, Jean Cocteau, the Taviani brothers, Federico Fellini, Francesco Rosi, etc.

In comparison to his later work, which borders on abstraction, the director’s approach to narrative here is decidedly conventional – as if he was still finding his feet…but, make no mistake about it, this is a startlingly assured (even refined) first film. By the way, at one point, a character in the film makes a reference to Camille – interestingly, Antonioni later made THE LADY WITHOUT CAMELIAS (1953) with the same leading lady! Finally, it’s worth noting that several elements typical of Antonioni’s cinema are already in evidence here: the plot mechanics being merely the excuse for a probing character study, the fated love affair, the fickle nature of relationships, the criticism of the jaded rich, the gloomy locations, the would-be mystery, etc.

Unfortunately, my experience watching STORY OF A LOVE AFFAIR was somewhat dampened by the distractingly ‘processed’ sound-effects pretty much throughout the entire duration of the film – which seem to be the result of an over-zealous digital restoration! Similarly, even if I have no way of knowing whether this is how it was supposed to sound, Giovanni Fusco’s histrionic score came off as deafeningly loud and, consequently, drowned out part of the dialogue!

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
A Nutshell Review: Story of a Love Affair, 23 June 2008

Author: DICK STEEL from Singapore

The very first feature film of Michelangelo Antonioni, Story of a Love Affair as introduced by Lorenzo Codelli, was a film that dealt with the metaphysics, and had very little neo-realist elements which was a departure from what one would come to expect from a filmmaker whose documentaries were neo-realist. Watching it for the first time, I thought it would make a wonderful thriller/crime-mystery involving two lovers, and I suppose in the hands of Hollywood, we would get just that.

But this is not Hollywood we're talking about, so again I get to throw all standard notions I was weaned on out of the window. As I was warned by a friend, I would be in for a rough ride because whatever structure of story-telling I was familiar with was going to be challenged, and strangely enough, I am beginning to find this challenge quite liberating, like the hitting onto a goldmine or an oilfield, and just raking in the sights and sounds from how beautiful a black and white movie could be, in terms of story, and characters.

However, the characters need not be goody-two-shoes, or perfectly looking beings with zilch problems that they couldn't take care of within 2 hours. There are some serious and complex issues that the leads here have to grapple with, and together with an audience, we try and probe, and discover for ourselves just what those are, though naturally we aren't given all the answers on a sliver platter, and have to work hard at it, sometimes even utilizing some precious moments to breathe, digest, and compute, only being able to scratch the surface.

Whatever the story or mystery is, it never really got addressed, not directly anyway. But story aside, I was really intrigued by the lead characters. We have a beautiful married woman Paola Fontana (played by Lucia Bose whom we'll see later in another Antonioni movie, and at one time the reigning Miss Italy) who seem to have the best of what luxuries life can offer, but is stuck in a loveless marriage to a rich man Enrico (Ferdinando Sarmi). We're told that in her youth, she was a head turner, and almost always changes her boyfriends, each being the alpha-male type.

Surprisingly, her lover whom she maintains contact with, Guido (Massimo Girotti) is anything but an alpha-male type. In fact, I would call him a loser in the classic sense of the word. No real job and penniless, he has some magnetic qualities to be be able to mesmerize Paola into trysts in cheap motel rooms. Meeting on the sly, we see how a high society woman have to dodge around from being discovered, and setting up alibis just to meet Guido, and we soon learn how wicked a woman she can be, for coming up with plans for crime to be committed to get things done her way. Which brings us back to the original thought of how she was involved in a more heinous crime / accident, where she could well be the chief manipulator then made to be seen as the victim.

The main crime thread that got weaved into the story, was one involving a certain unseen Ms Giovanna, whose demise was linked to the two lovers. We never really learned what exactly happened, and Antonioni makes us work in order to try and piece clues and accounts together. And the probing of this mystery by a private investigator serves as a catalyst to the rest of the story, where we first see our lovers meet after a long while, but instead of enjoying each other's embrace, seem a lot more concerned with the PI's probe, as if afraid that it'll uncover hidden skeletons in their closets.

Story of a Love Affair becomes an examination into these 2 characters, and interesting enough, to dwell on the problems that they face, in a somewhat lose-lose situation throughout their relationship. The first was when Giovanna served to be in the way of their coming together, being an in-between, and when that's settled, there's the other more pressing issue of whether they can elope successfully, where pragmatism takes over romanticism with Guido knowing for sure that he has no money, and little means to support both of them, especially the lifestyle that Paola currently enjoys.

Definitely deserves a second viewing to try and develop my thoughts on it further! And to enjoy the beautiful score all over again too!

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Emerging concepts and a focus on dialog, 30 April 2007

Author: Polaris_DiB from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Antonioni's first fictional film and a picture of post-war anxiety, "Story of a Love Affair" is the ironic tale of lovers who meet due to a husband's suspicion, their dramatic history, and the decisions they make to try to stay together. It takes on class issues, post-war malaise, and struggles against fate... to name just a few things. In 98 short minutes, it's filled to the brim with pathos and intrigue, deceit and passion, and fear and doubt.

It's a lot to take on for a "first" film, but Antonioni handles himself well, helped along very well by the actors. This is the first film of Antonioni's I've seen where the male character seems to have as much presence as the female. One can see some of Antonioni's later conceits beginning to develop, such as his eye for architecture and landscape, his dramatic sense of "the gaze", and his opinion that "Eros is sick."

This film also probably has more dialog than any other feature Antonioni has ever made. It is, in fact, so full of dialog that it's somewhat exhausting, though the dialog itself is very well written and poignant. The exhaustive quality of it actually helps the viewer relate to the ennui and entrapment felt by Paola and Guido, but it does weigh the movie down. Still, there are enough moments of silent contemplation and visual narration to release the movie from that tension and give the story a strong flow.

It's a good movie on its own right and a definite note of interest to Antonioni fans. It may not be widely known, and it's never been widely successful, but it has character and contemplation worthy of an art film buff.

--PolarisDiB

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6 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
When Antonioni was still neorealisming...., 28 March 2006
Author: dbdumonteil

Although Antonioni was part of the Italian Nouvelle Vague ,like Fellini,he began as a director of the neorealism school.He did not cut,however, the best of De Sica ,Rossellini and Visconti.

Best part comes from a sensitive Massimo Girotti but he's not really given a scene to shine -as he had in Visconti's "Ossessione" -.Lucia Bosé gives a good but a bit icily impersonal performance.

"Cronaca di un amore" is an interesting movie,if only for the things it forecasts: -the screenplay takes the shape of a private investigation,predating by ten years the second part of "l'avventura" and "blow-up" -the scenes displaying wealthy people living in luxury and exchanging futile conversations will be fully developed in "la Notte" But the most interesting subject is responsibility.Is a crime we intend to commit really a crime?This subject was rarely treated in Italian cinema ."Blow up" will come back to appearances .

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1 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Interesting, if difficult, film, 28 June 2006
Author: sol- from Perth, Australia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I suppose the single most interesting aspect of this film is shifts in perspective. At first, we are introduced to a detective who spends some time investigating the past of a woman at a concerned husband's request. The husband is worried that she might be cheating on him, as some photographs that he discovers reveal her to have quite a lively past. With all the inquiries being made, there is eventually a leak about the investigation, which the woman finds out about from a friend. From then onwards the perspective changes from having the detective as the main character to having her as the main character. While this switch is interesting, I'm not quite sure if I understand Antonioni's motivation behind it.

The story carries on, and the basic plot is not full of excitement, nor is it complex. It appears that the woman and a former lover were involved in a murder plot some time ago, and the woman is concerned that the police are after her. She calls up the old lover, and this is where one of the film's two great ironies is present. Until the investigation began, she was not having an affair or anything like that behind her husband's back, but now that she is re-united with her old lover, a love affair starts to develop again between them.

The story continues on after this, and there are many small (perhaps unnecessary) subplots thrown in, such as a party of some sort at which the woman randomly buys a dress, and some other blonde woman that her lover might also be having an affair with? Most of the supporting characters present in this period of the film are hardly at all developed, and it is in fact hard to judge whether this section of the film could have just been condensed to five minutes. Either way, it eventually comes to point at which the woman and her lover decide that they definitely want to be together, and they plot to dispose of her husband in a road accident. Ironically though, he gets killed on the road the very night they plan it on his own accord.

Some of the themes running through the film are interesting. The murder plot that they were involved in during the past is never explored in much detail, but we come to understand that they wanted to dispose of a woman who was getting in the way of the two of them having a relationship together. Another, albeit minor, irony here is that killing her drove them apart. Once again at the end they are driven apart, just by the intention of wanting to kill her husband, even though they never went through with it.

In terms of Antonioni's screenplay, there is definitely enough going on to make it engaging plotwise. However, I find it hard to construct even one sentence to describe each of his characters. The way the detective is often seen alone, or from behind with others in front, constructs him as a loner. But that's all that we are told. Other characters speak of the husband's jealousy, but he never seems more than curious. The wife and her lover fit the model of two doomed lovers, with the typical dread and paranoia attached, but not much individual personality. It was hard for me to connect with the film, because the characters came off too cold for me to connect with, and the dialogue between them left quite a bit to be desired.

The one thing that really annoyed me about the film though was Antonioni's soundtrack. More than half the scenes were filmed with noticeably noisy backgrounds, and in some cases --- the boy hitting the ball against the wall; birds chirping while talking on the telephone --- these sounds felt forced into the film. I suppose Antonioni was trying to say something with his use of sound, but what? And the noisy backgrounds aren't constant throughout either. It is very strange, and not really a positive thing as far as I can see. Also the variety of jazz music played over the action was overbearing, taking over the dialogue at certain points. Generally though, the music helped to set the mood well.

To leave off with a positive comment, Antonioni does quite a good job adapting film noir techniques to his project. The lengthy shadows, contrasts between soft and hard lighting etc, really give a 1940s American film noir feel. The black and white photography captures the film quite well, with panning, zooming etc., without disturbing the flow of the narrative. And there's one very interesting shot in which the type of lighting used makes a river/lake appear purely white, even though shot against a grey sky. The visual side is interesting.

Overall, there is a lot of interest going on this film, however there are at least a couple of factors that were detractors for me: the coldness with which all the characters are handled, and the lack of ease watching it, due to the odd soundtrack. It is indeed not an easy film to watch - but certainly, an interesting one.

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