L’Avventura

In Brief: When this ran in 2007, I wrote: “The four-star rating I’ve afforded Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’Avventura (1960) is born of a desire to approach the film as objectively as possible. Objectively, this is an important film — maybe even close to a great film. The rich, detailed, deep-focus black-and-white images that make up the film are so striking that they alone make the movie worth the price of a ticket. I understand, too, the fuss that greeted this movie in 1960. The film’s daring choice to present a mystery that has no solution — the disappearance of a socially prominent young woman (Lea Massari) going through a bout of cosmic malaise on a deserted island during a posh boating trip — was just arty enough to capture the imagination. … However, from a completely subjective point of view, the movie — like most of Antonioni's — never engaged my emotions and frequently bored me. Still, I can’t deny the quality of the film, and I’d never suggest it shouldn’t be seen.” This excerpt was taken from a review by Ken Hanke published on Sept. 12, 2007.