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

The car deal centers around a 1948 Maserati A6G 1500.

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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

Featured in Cinema: Alguns Cortes - Censura III (2015)

User Reviews

Film noir excellence

A rich older man's belated desire to investigate his beautiful wilful young wife' mysterious past reignites old passions with tragic consequences. For those viewers who are uncertain of Antonioni's capacity to make enjoyably great films, this may be a revelation especially if you have a penchant for post-WW2 film noir with its attendant malaise and melancholia. With suitable B&W photography and accompanying musical score and boasting one of the screen's great beauties, Lucia Bose, in her prime, this film is a masterpiece.