Il grido (1957)

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 Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1988)

Emptiness and Search

After living seven years with the mechanic Aldo (Steve Cochran), having a daughter with him, the simple woman Irma (Alida Valli) 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 (Mirna Girardi) 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 (Betsy Blair); he meets and lives with the widow Virginia (Dorian Gray), who owns a gas station; he lives with the prostitute Andreina (Lynn Shaw). But these relationships never complete the needy Aldo.

Michelangelo Antoniani is the filmmaker of the troubled relationships and "Il Grido" is a depressive story of a worker seeking a woman to fulfill the emptiness of his sentimental life after his seven year mate breaks their marriage. Without possessions, he needs to work to survive with his daughter while trying to live with another woman, in a sad and tragic story. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Grito" ("The Cry")