L'Avventura

Introduction

When Michelangelo Antonioni died in 2007, shortly after Ingmar Bergman, the film world mourned the passing of two giants. Antonioni assembled a formidable oeuvre during his time, including L'Avventura. His passing has led to an interest in his work, prompting the release of most of his films on DVD as part of the 'Tribute to Antonioni Series'.

The film begins with a group of bourgeois friends sailing to an isolated island in the Mediterranean. When time comes to leave they discover Anna is nowhere to be found. Her boyfriend Sandro and best friend Claudia stay on the island to look for her while the rest return to the mainland.

When the search proves fruitless, they decide to continue the search in Italy but have become very close and their thoughts are no longer solely on Anna...

Video

A decent quality monochrome transfer, but one with its fair share of wobble and detritus - fortunately though not enough to distract you.

Audio

The Dolby Digital Italian Mono soundtrack is reasonably clear and is well subtitled, although the punctuation sometimes leaves a lot to be desired, especially on the apostrophe front.

Extra Features

None, which is really disappointing as there are probably many critics, historians and family members with things to say about the film and/or Antonioni.

Conclusion

Michelangelo Antonioni has a reputation for films focusing on the ennui of the middle classes and this shows why. It's all to do with the turmoil and guilt of two people agonising over a relationship that they should never have but, in terms of story, nothing actually happens. It is very similar to Picnic at Hanging Rock another film in which someone disappears and is never found, concentrating on the emotions of those left behind.

This mass release of Antonioni's films on DVD is a double-edged sword as, on one hand, fans have access to his work but, on the other, this apparent rush to release has left no time for remastering or adding supplementary material.

L'Avventura is a great film, one to be appreciated more than liked and shows what a master of mise-en-scène Antonioni was. Those curious about his work should check this out but real fans would be better off with the superior Criterion release.