(Michaelangelo Antonioni, Italy/France 1960, 144 min., 35mm, Italian with English subtitles)
Largely considered Antonioni’s breakthrough masterpiece, L’Avventura marked the director’s transition into his trademark deliberate pacing and careful composition. Based on a story written by Antonioni, the film chronicles the search for a woman whose disappearance leads to an illicit romance between her lover and her best friend. Indicative of a common thread throughout Antonioni’s work, the film offers a challenging indictment of Italy’s indolent upper class. By forgoing narrative to focus on character development and atmosphere, L’Avventura helped to redefine film grammar for a new generation.
Upcoming Events in this Series
Film Screenings | The Dream & the Lie (DCP)
A Summer Trip through Europe(an Cinema) Designed as a three-channel installation, this cinematic version of Elena Dorfman’s debut film takes a deep dive into the hidden history of Albanian film. The Albanians established their Kinostudio with the help of the Russians, and went on to produce more than three hundred feature films and thousands of newsreels and documentaries — all of which were state sponsored and censored.
Film Screenings | Celine and Julie Go Boating (DCP)
A Summer Trip through Europe(an Cinema) “Usually, it began like this…” Jacques Rivette’s recursive, surreal, haunted house film plays with narrative in ways never before seen on-screen, and in the process influenced dozens of filmmakers, from David Lynch to Richard Linklater and Olivier Assayas.
Film Screenings | Cleo from 5 to 7 (DCP)
A Summer Trip through Europe(an Cinema) Unfolding almost in real time, this masterpiece from the “godmother” of the French nouvelle vague, and one of cinema’s greatest innovators follows a young woman in the liminal space between vitality and mortality.