L'Avventura (1960)

A woman disappears during a Mediterranean boating trip. 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 6 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gabriele Ferzetti	...	Sandro
Monica Vitti	...	Claudia
Lea Massari	...	Anna
Dominique Blanchar	...	Giulia
Renzo Ricci	...	Il padre di Anna
James Addams	...	Corrado
Dorothy De Poliolo	...	Gloria Perkins
Lelio Luttazzi	...	Raimondo
Giovanni Petrucci	...	Il principe Goffredo
Esmeralda Ruspoli	...	Patrizia
Enrico Bologna
Franco Cimino
Giovanni Danesi	...	Il fotofrafo
Rita Molè
Renato Pinciroli	...	Zuria - il giornalista

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:

island | disappearance | italy | marriage proposal | alienation | 

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Taglines:

A new adventure in filmmaking...

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

At its premiere at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival, this was booed so much to the extent that Michelangelo Antonioni and Monica Vitti fled the theater. However, after the second screening there was a complete turn around in how it was perceived and it was awarded the Special Jury Prize, going on to become a landmark of European cinema.

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Goofs

Near the end of the movie, Claudia wakes up and looks at her watch which shows a few minutes before 4:00 AM. She gets out of bed and walks around the room, before a clock chimes three times. It appears Claudia never reset her watch for the time change after leaving the Greek islands and travelling to Italy.

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Quotes

Claudia: To think that you must have told Anna these same things - I don't know, how many times.
Sandro: Let's say I did. I was as earnest with her as I am now with you.

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Connections

Referenced in Zeroville (2019)

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Soundtracks

Mai
(uncredited)
Written by Silvana Simoni (as Simoni), Aldo Locatelli (as Locatelli), Arturo Casadei (as Casadei), and Aldo Valleroni (as Valleroni)
Performed by Mina
[sung along to by Monica Vitti]

User Reviews

A masterpiece

A real masterpiece! Antonioni at his best! He is able to capture in a unique visual style the tragedy that surrounds people and their inability to communicate. And yet they are always longing for comfort, love and forgiveness.

It starts as a mystery but it later goes in search of deep human feelings. The scenes are so rich you'd be surprised to be completely mesmerized and lost in his world.

Slow pacing, of course. But what can you expect when you are watching a movie that look like a moving painting of two hours. You simply have adjust yourself to the interior beat of this brilliant movie which opened a decade of successes in Italian cinema history.

Details

Official Sites:

Mr Bongo Films

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian English Greek

Release Date:

4 March 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

L'Avventura

Filming Locations:

Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min 102 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1