Michelangelo Antonioni became famous for his mystery movies in which mystery was a tool not an end to itself. Films such as L'Avventura, The Passenger and of course Blowup In each of these there's a mystery but Antonioni is interested in its effect on his protagonists not in its solution. This one is his first feature film and in a way - the trend starts here, but in a different manner. Here we'll get the solution, we're going to know exactly what happened but once again it won't be the mystery with the Hollywood style closure we're so used to.
As other reviewers have mentioned. It's a very beautiful movie. Aesthetic control was always very important to Antonioni as far as I see it - it's part of his personal signature. It's a film noire in a manner of speech and it does - like most film noire looks into the basic sins of human nature this one might be the most popular sin of all - passion. The most popular - probably because it's the most beautiful to look at. And Lucia Bose is "as beautiful as sin" and she does show some considerable talent. Thing is, as I said in my title - the crime of passion we see is a crime in which passion itself is the crime and the punishment will suit the crime. Can't say anymore without saying too much. I just kept on thinking all through the film - how many other directors took the very same basic story that Antonioni tells us here and pushed it a lot further - Antonioni doesn't, that's seems to be part of his personality from the very beginning.
As other reviewers have mentioned. It's a very beautiful movie. Aesthetic control was always very important to Antonioni as far as I see it - it's part of his personal signature. It's a film noire in a manner of speech and it does - like most film noire looks into the basic sins of human nature this one might be the most popular sin of all - passion. The most popular - probably because it's the most beautiful to look at. And Lucia Bose is "as beautiful as sin" and she does show some considerable talent. Thing is, as I said in my title - the crime of passion we see is a crime in which passion itself is the crime and the punishment will suit the crime. Can't say anymore without saying too much. I just kept on thinking all through the film - how many other directors took the very same basic story that Antonioni tells us here and pushed it a lot further - Antonioni doesn't, that's seems to be part of his personality from the very beginning.