trapped beast

Wade 2022-03-21 09:02:46

Antonioni became the heir of Rossellini's spirit because of his depiction of the emotions of the characters. Rossellini's films after World War II revealed the prevailing state of existence at that time: alienated and wandering, and Antonioni thereafter greatly expanded the world created by Rossellini in modern cinematic language.

"Adventures" creates a human cage with emotional unrest and a broken spiritual world. At the beginning of the film, Claudia stands under the window watching Anna and Sandro's lingering, at this time she is just a bystander in the emotional world. Afterwards, a group of people traveled together, and Anna unexpectedly disappeared on the isolated island. Anna's disappearance is a symbol: the collapse and disintegration of the emotional world. Antonioni subtly replaces the disintegrated post-World War II world of Rossellini's films with missing characters, and their emotional sketches begin here. On the isolated island, Anna is not found, and the protagonists must start all over to face their situation. Whenever Sandro looked at Claudia, she struggled to turn her head away, unable to face herself and not knowing how to respond to Sandro's emotional exchange. The isolated island is like the emotional world of the characters at this time: isolated and unable to contact the world.

There are also many scenes in the film where Claudia looks out through doors and windows, which is an expression of the character's mood: longing for contact with the world and emotional satisfaction. And in some scenes, the eyes of a large group of men are watching Claudia, and she is very helpless at this time. Men are in the dominant position, and women are in a disadvantaged position to be watched. This may be the reason for Claudia's irritability and anxiety in the film. In the face of men, she is unable to affirm and control herself. Sandro is always in the lead in the emotional communication, but this position is broken by the end of the film. Sandro couldn't hold himself back and changed his mind. When Claudia found out, he buried his head in shame, and then threw the money to find Claudia. Only at this point can we see how deeply Antonioni grasps the emotions of the characters: Sandro is sitting on the bench weeping, and Claudia hesitantly touches the back of Sandro's head after walking over. Now she realizes the fact that both men and women are emotional slaves.

The final long shot, along with the music whose pitch gradually rose and appeared sharp, pushed the emotional confusion of the two to the extreme. This was the most terrifying moment in film history.

View more about L'Avventura reviews

Extended Reading

L'Avventura quotes

  • Il principe Goffredo: It's strange how women enjoy showing themselves. It almost seems like part of their nature.

    Giulia: [laughs, looks at a nude portrait] How can they pose that way? I couldn't.

    Il principe Goffredo: Why don't you try?

  • Sandro: Was she blonde or brunette?

    Pharmacist: Brunette.

    Pharmacist's jealous wife: Blonde.

    Sandro: What was she wearing?

    Pharmacist: I don't remember. Some pale color, I believe.

    Pharmacist's jealous wife: He doesn't notice the clothing. He notices what's underneath.