Feb 8th: THE PASSENGER (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1975)

A journalist switches identities with a dead man and gets in over his head with underworld merchants.



Michaelangelo Antonioni was one of the major figures in the international art film boom of the 1960's (along with Ingmar Bergman and Jean-Luc Godard), coming out of the Italian neo-realist movement to fashion his own distinct post-modernist style. The films often depict man's relationship to the modern world, and existential treatments of middle-class ennui and alienation. They feature fractured narratives, reflecting the filmmaker's desire to follow instinct during the production and editing processes with a minimum of planning.



After the successful loose trilogy L'Avventura, La Notte, and L'Eclisse, Antonioni partnered with producer Carlo Ponti for a series of English language films with larger budgets. The first, Blow-Up, was an international hit which captured the current London mod scene and remains his most famous work. After the American counterculture-centric Zabriskie Point proved a financial and critical disappointment, Antonioni went all the way to Africa to make The Passenger.



This project followed a more focused script with the help of two additional screenwriters, and the earthy presence of Jack Nicholson, a marked change from Antonioni's typical detached leads. The film also stars French actress Maria Schneider, who had recently worked with another iconic American actor for an Italian director (Marlon Brando in Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango In Paris), and had initially refused the part but joined the production after it had already started.



Despite much critical praise, The Passenger failed to find much of an audience in its initial run. Since its release it has grown in stature, and has become famous for a unbroken 7-minute tracking shot at the end of the film which required custom equipment and precise logistical execution. Nicholson eventually acquired the rights and supervised a theatrical re-release and DVD edition in 2005.



Antonioni retreated back to Italy to make smaller, more experimental pieces during the 1980's and 90's, and received an Honorary Academy Award for his life's work in 1995. He died on July 30, 2007, on the same exact day as his contemporary Ingmar Bergman. His influence can be seen in various directors from many corners of the world, including Gus Van Sant and Sofia Coppola in America, China's Wong Kar-Wai, Iran's Abbas Kiarostami, and Mexico's Carlos Reygadas.



Running time is approx. 2 hrs.