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

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list.

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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

Claudia: Why can't things be less complicated? You say I always want to see things clearly. I'd like to be clearheaded. I'd like to have truly clear ideas!

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Connections

Edited into Lo schermo a tre punte (1995)

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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

Not the director's absolute best picture (that goes to Blowup)

...yet any viewer can see why L'Avventura (in English "The Adventure", which is interesting considering what unfolds) put him on the map in the art-film/new-wave era. He tells a story of a group of high-society types, the kind that seem all the more empty as they are examined character wise, who on a boat trip stop on an island to walk around, when a woman, Anna (Lea Massari), goes missing. They search for her, send out more people to search for her, but as the film progresses it can be seen that the search for her is futile, and it becomes an existentialist examination of the character played by Ferzetti and Vitti.

The major flaw that I can see with L'Avventura is that it's at times a bit too assured with it's own storytelling skills, and occasionally it plods along. However the story works most of the time and it's non-formulaic structure keeps it very credible. But, what made me take notice and not nod out at all during the picture was the whole aura, the atmosphere. Antonionni, along with his director of photography Aldo Scavarda, always have a beautiful shot up on the screen, scenes which may seem of desperation are perfectly captured in the frames and any one could be freeze-framed and put on a wall to view like a painting (another film like this could be Raging Bull). On that level of pure skill and movement, as well as the realistic character development, L'Avventura is an accomplished piece of filmmaking. Important, to be sure, though some may feel turned off after a while. Grade: A

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