Il grido (1957)

A man wanders aimlessly, away from his town, away from the woman he loved, emotionally and socially inactive.

Director:

Michelangelo Antonioni

Writers:

Michelangelo Antonioni, Elio Bartolini,

Stars:

Steve Cochran, Alida Valli, Betsy Blair

3 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Steve Cochran	...	Aldo
Alida Valli	...	Irma
Betsy Blair	...	Elvia
Gabriella Pallotta	...	Edera, her sister
Dorian Gray	...	Virginia
Lynn Shaw	...	Andreina
Mirna Girardi	...	Rosina
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pina Boldrini	...	Lina
Guerrino Campanilli	...	Virginia's father
Pietro Corvelatti	...	Fisherman
Lilia Landi
Gaetano Matteucci	...	Edera's fiancé
Elli Parvo	...	Donna Matilda

Storyline

After living seven years with the mechanic Aldo, having a daughter with him, the simple woman Irma is informed that her absent husband had just died in Sydney. She becomes upset when Aldo proposes to marry her and she tells him that she is going to leave him. Unable to explain how much he loves her, Aldo takes their daughter Rosina and travels with her, meeting different women in different places, trying to establish a new relationship and fill the emptiness of his sentimental life. He visits his former lover Elvia; he meets and lives with the widow Virginia, who owns a gas station; he lives with the prostitute Andreina. But these relationships never complete the needy Aldo.

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Plot Keywords:

mechanic | valley | refinery | gas station | depression | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Italy USA

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

22 June 1957 (Italy)

Also Known As:

El grito

Filming Locations:

Francolino, Ferrara, Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

SpA Cinematografica, Robert Alexander Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 103 min (censored)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Cinema Paradiso (1988)

User Reviews

an almost mature Antonioni

In the total of Antonioni's films, 'Il grido' (= Italian for 'the outcry') makes an exception: it is entirely set in a worker's environment. Usually Antonioni's actors and actresses perform people who don't earn their living by physical labor.

Produced shortly before Antonioni's famous trio 'La Notte', 'L'eclisse' and 'L'avventura', this film from 1957 clearly shows the theme Antonioni got so famous with: men losing their roots, being dislocated & disoriented by the advancement of technology. Around 1960 this pessimism was very current.

On top of this, 'Il grido' carries every other Antonioni-feature. Fine shooting, while emphasizing on geometries in buildings and landscapes (Antonioni was educated as an architect). First class actors and actresses who seldom laugh and make joy. And, as I already mentioned, a pessimistic theme linked with some grand-scale technical advancement.

Antonioni is renowned as 'the poet of misery'; 'Il grido' is quite in line with this statement.