#michaelangeloantonioni

[zeroheadroom]

I am old enough to remember the last retrospective of #michaelangeloantonioni at the #bfi ... back then they apparently couldn’t screen Passengers as it was owned by #jacknicholson and refused permission. https://www.instagram.com/p/Btgi_Z_HhAL/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1mad2ic2xd1m6

[charlottecrawford]

‘Red Desert’, 1964

Directed by Michaelangelo Antonioni 

Antonioni explores post war Italy through architecture, urban space and the sculptural presence of objects, shapes and emotions through camera movement and depth of focus. His aesthetic films, created during the period of Neorealism, approach the unseen nature of human life, with his protagonist’s often having empty and purposeless lives aside from the desire for material wealth.  He often used objects as a way of mirroring a characters psychic state, freeing them from narrative constraints. 

In Antonioni’s film ‘Red Desert’, a depressed young mother begins an affair with the friend of her successful but neglectful husband, as a way of coping in this industrial society. The film’s setting starkly contrasts to the image we expect to see when we think of Italy, instead we are faced with a grim and unsettling industrial landscape of modern wastelands and toxic factories. The protagonist’s alienation is evident through the use of framing and composition, unusually cropping her in the frame and partially obscuring her through objects. Long shots engulf the characters, factories and pylons looming in the distance. This portrayal of isolation in such a harsh and cruel environment, in which people are more interested in wealth than each other, provokes the viewer to question their own subconscious. 

[patrickcrain]

There are probably better ways to honor the life and legacy of Sam Shepard than this unholy mess, but how else can I genuinely reconcile my love for the man AND my need to watch things explode in slow motion while set to the music of Pink Floyd? Now watching - Zabriskie Point (1970) #michaelangeloantonioni #samshepard (at Crain Manor)