Il grido (1957)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Michelangelo Antonioni

Writers:

Michelangelo Antonioni (writer) and
Elio Bartolini (writer) ...

Release Date:

1957 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Mechanic | Valley | Gas Station | Refinery | Alienation

Awards:

2 wins

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 Campanini	...	Virginia's father
Lilia Landi
Gaetano Matteucci	...	Edera's fiancé

Also Known As:

The Cry (UK) (USA)
The Outcry (USA) (pre-release title)

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

Italy | USA

Language:

Italian

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Singapore:PG | UK:12 (DVD rating) | Italy:VM14 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (cut)

Filming Locations:

Francolino, Ferrara, Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Company:

SpA Cinematografica

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Michelangelo Antonioni storia di un autore (1966) (TV)

Echo of Winterreise

Other reviews to the contrary, if you found Le Notte or L'Eclisse lacked sufficient plot, I doubt you'll enjoy Il Grido. However, unlike later Antonioni, the focus here is not on fear of commitment & loss of passion, but on a classic spurned lover. Like L'Eclisse, Il Grido begins with breakup, magnificently acted & powerfully filmed; we feel each shudder of pain. In fact, both films' power rests on us sharing this experience, second by second, nerve-end by nerve-end. Note Irma's efforts to hold to the fabric of order & routine to keep a lid on Aldo's fury & the careful portrayal of Aldo's frustrations.

Il Grido's opening builds to a very public & final breakup. It initiates Aldo's journey away from Irma & home. I kept thinking of Schubert's song cycle, Winterreise. In both, after rejection the protagonist's world ceases to hold together. Only here the descent isn't into winter but into fog, industrial sprawl, & ever more spartan existence. Even the piano which accompanies Aldo reminded me of lieder.

The opening's not quite picturesque scenery may suggest nurturing home values. Unlike couples in other Antonioni classics, Aldo & Irma have a daughter, & to Aldo their lives seemed fulfilled. The almost picturesque is soon replaced by encroaching industrial sounds & images. Several times we see trees felled as an old order is being swept away. At film's end, the whole town is slated for demolition, & we are asked to contemplate the relation between the Winterreise-like main text of lost love & this subtext of industrial sprawl & oppressive, intrusive government. No clear connection is given, but as in later Antonioni, the images work their effect as much on our subconscious as on our intellect; whether we can verbalize our thoughts or not, we feel this rupture with earlier values & social structures. For me, Il Grido is a more honest film than L'Avventura. If it lacks a bit of the elegant, refined photo compositions of Antonioni's trilogy, it rests on the same detailed, carefully structured cinematography.