L'avventura (1960)

A woman disappears during a Mediterranean boating trip. But during the search, her lover and her best friend become attracted to each other.

Director:

Michelangelo Antonioni

Writers:

Michelangelo Antonioni (story), Michelangelo Antonioni (screenplay),

Stars:

Gabriele Ferzetti, Monica Vitti, Lea Massari

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 5 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gabriele Ferzetti	...	Sandro
Monica Vitti	...	Claudia
Lea Massari	...	Anna
Dominique Blanchar	...	Giulia
Renzo Ricci	...	Anna's Father
James Addams	...	Corrado
Dorothy De Poliolo	...	Gloria Perkins
Lelio Luttazzi	...	Raimondo
Giovanni Petti	...	Prince Goffredo (as Giovanni Petrucci)
Esmeralda Ruspoli	...	Patrizia
Jack O'Connell	...	Old man on the island
Angela Tommasi Di Lampedusa	...	The Princess
Franco Cimino
Prof. Cucco	...	Ettore
Giovanni Danesi

Storyline

A group of rich Italians head out on a yachting trip to a deserted volcanic island in the Mediterranean. When they are about to leave the island, they find Anna, the main character up to this point, has gone missing. Sandro, Anna's boyfriend, and Claudia, Anna's friend, try without success to find her. While looking for the missing friend, Claudia and Sandro develop an attraction for each other. When they get back to land, they continue the search with no success. Sandro and Claudia proceed to become lovers, and all but forget about the missing Anna.

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Plot Keywords:

friend | island | search | sicily | yacht | 

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Taglines:

A new adventure in filmmaking...

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Mr Bongo Films

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

4 March 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

La aventura

Filming Locations:

Aeolian Islands, Messina, Sicily, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cino del Duca, Produzioni Cinematografiche Europee (P.C.E.), Societé Cinématographique Lyre

Technical Specs

Runtime:

143 min 102 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The boat which the main characters holiday on was seized by the owner for non-payment. This is why the boat appears to be bigger in some scenes as the replacement that Antonioni procured was actually a little larger.

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Goofs

During the sequence in which Sandro and the newspaper reporter cross a street, the shadows of the camera and the crew are clearly and prolongedly visible on the actors and on the street surface.

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Quotes

Sandro: Why should we be here talking, arguing? Believe me Anna, words are becoming less and less necessary; they create misunderstandings.

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Connections

Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Seul le cinéma (1997)

User Reviews

Love can be worth so little

What I particularly liked about this film, was, in the first part, the surreal black-and-white landscape, and how people (literally and metaphorically) seem to disappear in that landscape. The movie is beautiful to watch, slow but never boring, an original story featuring complex characters. The actors are fascinating, they do not do a lot but they express a great variety of feelings, including the inability to feel in certain situations.

Of course, there are `themes' too. Basically, the movie is about forgetting; about the transitoriness of everything abstract, particularly about how little love can be worth; and I am sure a lot of other meanings can be gathered from this beautiful movie.