(sort of spoilers, i suppose)
Identification of a Woman was Antonioni's first film in Italy since the beautiful Red Desert. And its a quieter, more mature film than his international films.
I'm glad I saw Identification of a Woman because it contains one of Antonioni's most beautiful sequences: the scenes in the fog, with people disappearing and reappearing. And also because we have something here we don't always have: characters and what almost resembles a story.
We have an Antonioni-esque film director looking for the ideal female face for his next film.
I think the film's about how men misunderstand women. They're only spying on them (spying is a recurring motif in the film), looking on from the outside, as if they were merely faces: I think this is why the (approximate) story of the film centres on a man looking for the perfect face for his new movie (ie, not the perfect woman).
Be prepared, though, to not hold up hopes that Antonioni will stick with this story - because its left for you to decide whether a face, or a woman, are identified. This is not a flaw in the film - it was Antonioni's trademark.
But if you only had so many hours of your life to spare for Antonioni films, i don't recommend you use up two on this one.
It definitely doesn't have the passion and enthusiasm of Zabriskie Point - aside from his great works (L'Avventura, La Notte, L'Eclisse, Red Desert, The Passenger), i'd recommend you see the visually exhilirating Zabriskie Point instead of this.
Caution: fairly extreme nudity and sex, mostly not of an erotic nature, but fairly intense (not rape or anything like that... just fairly hungry, physical sex).
Identification of a Woman was Antonioni's first film in Italy since the beautiful Red Desert. And its a quieter, more mature film than his international films.
I'm glad I saw Identification of a Woman because it contains one of Antonioni's most beautiful sequences: the scenes in the fog, with people disappearing and reappearing. And also because we have something here we don't always have: characters and what almost resembles a story.
We have an Antonioni-esque film director looking for the ideal female face for his next film.
I think the film's about how men misunderstand women. They're only spying on them (spying is a recurring motif in the film), looking on from the outside, as if they were merely faces: I think this is why the (approximate) story of the film centres on a man looking for the perfect face for his new movie (ie, not the perfect woman).
Be prepared, though, to not hold up hopes that Antonioni will stick with this story - because its left for you to decide whether a face, or a woman, are identified. This is not a flaw in the film - it was Antonioni's trademark.
But if you only had so many hours of your life to spare for Antonioni films, i don't recommend you use up two on this one.
It definitely doesn't have the passion and enthusiasm of Zabriskie Point - aside from his great works (L'Avventura, La Notte, L'Eclisse, Red Desert, The Passenger), i'd recommend you see the visually exhilirating Zabriskie Point instead of this.
Caution: fairly extreme nudity and sex, mostly not of an erotic nature, but fairly intense (not rape or anything like that... just fairly hungry, physical sex).