This is arguably the best of the three 'chick flicks' that Antonioni directed between 1950 and 1955 and in terms of cinematic language prefigures the revelatory 'L'Avventura'. In between he switched from middle class ennui to working class angst in the brilliant but underrated 'Il Grido'.
The key sequence in this loose adaptation of Cesare Pavese's 'Among Women only' takes place on a beach and is a set piece that looks ahead to 'L' Avventura' in the way Antonioni choreographs his players, uses both space itself and spaces between people as well as setting his characters 'meaningfully' against landscapes.
The lynchpin of the film is the tangled relationship between Rossetta, Nene and Lorenzo. The ultimately tragic Rossetta for whom the glass is always half-full, gives Swiss Miss Madeleine Fischer her best role but she was soon to turn her back on film to pursue other interests. Valentina Cortese's wonderfully self-effacing performance as Nene was to earn her both a Golden Goblet and Silver Ribbon whilst his portrayal of the self-absorbed Lorenzo made the excellent Gabriele Ferzetti an obvious choice as Sandro in 'L'Avventura'.
The whole cast is uniformly excellent and especially impressive is the fabulously feline Yvonne Furneaux as rich bitch Momina. Her best role of course was to come as the needy, moany Emma in 'La Dolce Vita'.
Technically the film is flawless with fluid camerawork from Gianni di Venanzo, rhythmic editing by Antonioni regular Eraldo da Roma and a jaunty score by his preferred composer Giovanni Fusco. The director's compositional skill is stunning and we are spared the infuriating to-you-to-me reverse shots used by so many directors to disguise their lack of creativity.
In Antonioni's output this is very much work in progress but shows a rapid development in his style whilst already reflecting his own description of his métier: "My work is like digging. It is archeological research among the arid materials of our times."
The key sequence in this loose adaptation of Cesare Pavese's 'Among Women only' takes place on a beach and is a set piece that looks ahead to 'L' Avventura' in the way Antonioni choreographs his players, uses both space itself and spaces between people as well as setting his characters 'meaningfully' against landscapes.
The lynchpin of the film is the tangled relationship between Rossetta, Nene and Lorenzo. The ultimately tragic Rossetta for whom the glass is always half-full, gives Swiss Miss Madeleine Fischer her best role but she was soon to turn her back on film to pursue other interests. Valentina Cortese's wonderfully self-effacing performance as Nene was to earn her both a Golden Goblet and Silver Ribbon whilst his portrayal of the self-absorbed Lorenzo made the excellent Gabriele Ferzetti an obvious choice as Sandro in 'L'Avventura'.
The whole cast is uniformly excellent and especially impressive is the fabulously feline Yvonne Furneaux as rich bitch Momina. Her best role of course was to come as the needy, moany Emma in 'La Dolce Vita'.
Technically the film is flawless with fluid camerawork from Gianni di Venanzo, rhythmic editing by Antonioni regular Eraldo da Roma and a jaunty score by his preferred composer Giovanni Fusco. The director's compositional skill is stunning and we are spared the infuriating to-you-to-me reverse shots used by so many directors to disguise their lack of creativity.
In Antonioni's output this is very much work in progress but shows a rapid development in his style whilst already reflecting his own description of his métier: "My work is like digging. It is archeological research among the arid materials of our times."