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The antithesis to Ozu: Antonioni. His "La Notte," the second in his

Posted by tinear on April 12, 2011 at 12:49:29:
trilogy of "L'avventura" and "L'eclisse," shows the underbelly of post-WWII Italy as it moves alarmingly quickly into the post-industrial age where massive buildings and ever-present machines overwhelm in scale their puny human creators. In this new society, art is relegated to entertainment and spectacle--- or else pure economics: "how much did you earn from that book?"
Jeanne Moreau is perfect as the disaffected wife, struggling with the collapse of her marriage to Marcello Mastroiani, even as her mentor dies in a hospital. During this one fateful day, that begins with one of the greatest 10-minute openings ever filmed, the couple revisit the location of their happy first days and end up at a captain-of-industry's nightime party (the third such event of the day) where both of them, more out of boredom than passion, go off with other partners.
Almost palpable emotions seethe and fester beneath the surface of the characters--- the cynicism is stifling, total, devastating and reflected by the bleakness of the cold concrete buildings, the vast spaces given over to weeds and decadence.
The concussion of this film is a stark contrast to the placidity of Ozu and every bit as valid as a social criticism. Though the Italian's work is as visually powerful, his characters have much more to say, much of it philosophy, and their limitless capacity for self-centered reflection is in itself a strong damnation.
Along with the other two in his trilogy, "La Notte" is essential viewing. You really cannot understand Antonioni's, "Blow-up," unless you've digested this masterwork from 1961. Kubrick, for what it's worth, put this film on his list of the ten greatest.