Michaengelo Antonioni as a director interests me a good deal, but he is a director who is appreciated and recognised for his influence in film than loved and considered a favourite. His films are extremely well made and thematically interesting (some like urban alienation being ground-breaking), his directing style is deservedly influential and he does get the best out of good casts in his best work. He is though a divisive director, for while his films fascinate and transfix many they alienate and perplex others and he has been criticised for detatchment, self-indulgence and ambiguity.
Both opinions being completely understandable. Have had this experience myself (meaning experiencing both feelings watching his films), with 'L'avventura' (on rewatch), 'L'Eclisse' and especially 'La Notte' being examples of films of his that transfixed, fascinated and connected with me emotionally. Have also found though that others like 'Blow-Up' didn't really connect with me. 'Red Desert' was his first film in colour and while it is a very visually and thematically interesting film and one of Antonioni's best looking films it's not one of his best or most accessible from personal opinion, other films of his explored similar themes and executed them more insightfully and subtly. That is not saying it's a bad film, it isn't (pretty good actually) and there is a lot to like, also connected with it more than with 'Blow-Up'.
'Red Desert' is somewhat heavy-handed in how it handles its subject in places, when Antonioni goes to extremes making his point. The visuals say an awful lot and then we have philosophical dialogue accompanying them, and for me the dialogue was rather rambling and some of how it flows is awkward.
Even by Antonioni standards, the pace in 'Red Desert' is slow. Most of the time actually that wasn't a problem, in my book when a film is slow paced it doesn't automatically make it bad but it depends on whether it's necessary and whether there's enough elsewhere else that's interesting, but some of the second half does feel like trudging through mud. Always felt that Richard Harris was an odd choice on paper and still think that watching the film, have often heard people say he was miscast and seeing how badly out of his element and how obviously he was dubbed is it is hard to disagree with this.
However, Antonioni directs with full command and ease of the material, even if it is not always subtle. Thematically, 'Red Desert' is quite thought-provoking and had me intrigued. It makes for a very unsettling film but considering the theme (alienation is as unsettling as one can get) it works, and this unsettlement hits hard. So it was not the most comfortable of watches but did transfix and did connect with me emotionally, while also confusing me far less than 'Blow-Up' did.
Monica Vitti gives an intensely impassioned and deeply felt performance as a very vividly complex character, whose writing and development is one of the film's more interesting assets. The score and sound are hauntingly used. But where 'Red Desert' most excels is the production values. The cinematography is just masterful and some of the best and most breath-taking in any of Antonioni's film and even in film overall. Not just the fluidity and the colours but also the contrasts and how it complemented the atmospheric scenery. There are memorable sequences, such as the one with the fable and the ending is not easy to forget, almost as much as the one for 'L'Eclisse'.
Concluding, not one of my favourite Antonioni films (Harris' miscasting, some of the pace and the dialogue bringing it down) but pretty good with some great things (Vitti and the cinematography being the main reasons to see it. 7/10 Bethany Cox
Both opinions being completely understandable. Have had this experience myself (meaning experiencing both feelings watching his films), with 'L'avventura' (on rewatch), 'L'Eclisse' and especially 'La Notte' being examples of films of his that transfixed, fascinated and connected with me emotionally. Have also found though that others like 'Blow-Up' didn't really connect with me. 'Red Desert' was his first film in colour and while it is a very visually and thematically interesting film and one of Antonioni's best looking films it's not one of his best or most accessible from personal opinion, other films of his explored similar themes and executed them more insightfully and subtly. That is not saying it's a bad film, it isn't (pretty good actually) and there is a lot to like, also connected with it more than with 'Blow-Up'.
'Red Desert' is somewhat heavy-handed in how it handles its subject in places, when Antonioni goes to extremes making his point. The visuals say an awful lot and then we have philosophical dialogue accompanying them, and for me the dialogue was rather rambling and some of how it flows is awkward.
Even by Antonioni standards, the pace in 'Red Desert' is slow. Most of the time actually that wasn't a problem, in my book when a film is slow paced it doesn't automatically make it bad but it depends on whether it's necessary and whether there's enough elsewhere else that's interesting, but some of the second half does feel like trudging through mud. Always felt that Richard Harris was an odd choice on paper and still think that watching the film, have often heard people say he was miscast and seeing how badly out of his element and how obviously he was dubbed is it is hard to disagree with this.
However, Antonioni directs with full command and ease of the material, even if it is not always subtle. Thematically, 'Red Desert' is quite thought-provoking and had me intrigued. It makes for a very unsettling film but considering the theme (alienation is as unsettling as one can get) it works, and this unsettlement hits hard. So it was not the most comfortable of watches but did transfix and did connect with me emotionally, while also confusing me far less than 'Blow-Up' did.
Monica Vitti gives an intensely impassioned and deeply felt performance as a very vividly complex character, whose writing and development is one of the film's more interesting assets. The score and sound are hauntingly used. But where 'Red Desert' most excels is the production values. The cinematography is just masterful and some of the best and most breath-taking in any of Antonioni's film and even in film overall. Not just the fluidity and the colours but also the contrasts and how it complemented the atmospheric scenery. There are memorable sequences, such as the one with the fable and the ending is not easy to forget, almost as much as the one for 'L'Eclisse'.
Concluding, not one of my favourite Antonioni films (Harris' miscasting, some of the pace and the dialogue bringing it down) but pretty good with some great things (Vitti and the cinematography being the main reasons to see it. 7/10 Bethany Cox