Film Classic 2012 – Michelangelo Antonioni

Film review of Michelangelo Antonioni, famous Italian modernist film director, screenwriter, editor and short stories writer, organised by Italian Institute of Culture and Rotunda Association.
The Rotunda Discussion Film Club, together with the Italian Cultural Institute, hosts the 15th Film Classic Festival 2012 – Michelangelo Antonioni (1912-2012), devoting an entire month (5-29 March) to this master of Italian cinema on the 100th anniversary of his birth.
Antonioni is one of the greatest directors in the history of Italian cinema. He started as a documentary-maker during the era of Neorealism, and went on to debut with the drama Chronicle of a Love (Cronaca di un amore) in 1950. The years 1957-1975 were key for his international career, securing him a place in film history. He created eight films during the period, all of which can be described as having changed the course of world cinema. They depict a personal and pessimistic vision of the place of humankind in today’s world. He won over the public with his Italian trilogy of loneliness: The Adventure (L’avventura, 1960), The Night (La note, 1961) and The Eclipse (L’eclisse, 1962). In 1964 he was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for his first colour film, Red Desert (Il deserto rosso). Two years later he received the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival for Blowup; its acclaim was quickly followed by Zabriskie Point and The Passenger (Professione: Reporter), forming an international contestation trilogy. In 1995, together with Wim Wenders, he created Beyond the Clouds (Al di là delle nuvole). There will also be Identification of a Woman (Identificazione di una donna, 1982) and a pessimistic tale of the parting of two young people, The Cry (Il grido, 1957). The screenings will be held at the Rotunda Cultural Centre and at the Italian Cultural Institute.

Screenings at Rotunda:
5 March – Professione: Reporter, 1975, 119’; Zabriskie Point, 1970, 110’
11 March – Cronaca di un amore, 1950, 98’
12 March – Il grido, 1957, 116’
13 March – L’avventura, 1960, 143’
19 March – La notte, 1961, 122’
27 March – L’Eclisse, 1962, 126’
29 March – Il deserto Rosso, 1964, 120’

Screenings at Italian Institute of Culture (on the map):
7 March – Il deserto Rosso, 1964, 113'
14 March – Blowup, 1967, 106'
21 March – IIdentificazione di una donna, 1982, 128'
28 March – Al di là delle nuvole, 1995, 112'