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