Story of a Love Affair (1950)

Paola is a young, beautiful woman married to a wealthy entrepreneur. She meets her former lover Guido after seven years, but their relationship is marked by tragic events.

Director:

Michelangelo Antonioni

Writers:

Michelangelo Antonioni (story), Michelangelo Antonioni (screenplay)

Stars:

Lucia Bosé, Massimo Girotti, Ferdinando Sarmi

2 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Lucia Bosé	...	Paola Molon Fontana
Massimo Girotti	...	Guido
Ferdinando Sarmi	...	Enrico Fontana
Gino Rossi	...	Carloni, the detective
Marika Rowsky	...	Joy, the model
Rosi Mirafiore	...	Barmaid
Rubi D'Alma	...	Paola's friend
Anita Farra
Carlo Gazzabini	...	(as Carlo Gazzapini)
Nardo Rimediotti
Renato Burrini
Vittorio Manfrino
Vittoria Mondello	...	Matilde
Franco Fabrizi	...	Fashion show presentator
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gino Cervi

Storyline

Paola (Lucia Bose) is the beautiful and jealously-guarded younger wife of a shady factory owner, Enrico Fontana (Ferdinando Sarmi). In order to investigate her romantic history he hires a private detective, which ironically brings Paola back into contact with former lover Guido (Massimo Girotti), with whom she resurrects a lost passion. Dogged by the suspicions of their respective mates, they are drawn closer to each other in the face of adversity, and begin to plot Enrico's demise. But when the challenge of being together falls away, will the passion start to wane? A masterpiece of intensity and finely-wrought emotion.

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Plot Keywords:

italy | passion | private detective | directorial debut | infidelity | 

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Taglines:

Where Antonioni begins...his first feature film

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

30 April 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Paula

Filming Locations:

FERT Studios, Turin, Piedmont, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Villani Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the time of filming, 19 year old star Lucia Bosé was Miss Italy 1947. She was also one of Michelangelo Antonioni's girlfriends.

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Goofs

After Paola says, "Leave me alone," the camera moves to follow her as she collapses onto her bed. In the upper right corner of the frame, a white drape can be briefly seen before it is pulled out of the path of the camera.

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Connections

Referenced in Sodankylä ikuisesti: Valon draama (2010)

User Reviews

When Antonioni was still neorealisming....

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 .