A review of the classic Italian movie “L’Avventura” (1960)
How would you characterise an art house film? Probably foreign, likely black and white, little action, people behaving oddly, striking visuals, opaque messaging, and s-l-o-w. The Italian “L’Avventura” is then the archetypical art house film.
The story was composed by the director Michaelangelo Antonioni. At first, it looks as if the main character is the wilful Anna (Lea Massari) but she soon goes missing on a remote, rocky island. It is hardly a spoiler to warn that one shouldn’t expect to see any more of Anna, because the remainder of the narrative is about the search for Anna by her lover, Sandro (good-looking Gabriele Ferzette), and her best friend, Claudia (beautiful Monica Vitti in her first starring role).
The picture did win the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and it is loved by most film scholars, so it is an important piece of cinematic history. But I like my movies to have more action and clarity and I find it difficult to care about existential angst among such privileged characters.