Michelangelo Antonioni bloc 1

dokumentART 2012: 14.11.2012, Wednesday, 18:00
Lulu Club, Partyzantów 2 (where is that?)
Blok tematyczny: Top League

This year's Extraleague presents the life work of a prominent Italian director – Michelangelo Antonioni. He started his film career working with such directors as Roberto Rossellini, Federico Fellini, Giuseppe De Santis, and Marcel Carne. He debuted in 1947 with his documentary film “People of the Po Valley”. Creating this film took him four years, and even in its first image one notices the author's incredible visual sensitivity. The film, which became a turning point in Antonioni's career was “The adventure” (1960), as it stirred great controversy at the Cannes Film Festival – booed by the audience, it gained recognition among the critics.

 As Antonioni was sceptical towards the changing reality of his days, he showed man in isolation from the outside world, in emotional instability and alienation. The director, known for his long shots, focused instead on the inside world of his protagonists, whereas the narration and action were of secondary importance. His protagonists were most often loners, unable to create a lasting, close relationship with another person, and fruitlessly seeking the truth. Reality escapes the laws of logic, and the world created by Antonioni in his narratives is full of appearances and illusions.

Films

  • Blowup / Powiększenie
    Michelangelo Antonioni, GBR, ITA, USA 1966, 110'

    Cast: David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, Jane Birkin, Gillian Hills, Peter Bowles, Veruschka von Lehndorff, John Castle, Claude Chagrin, Julian Chagrin

    The picture was awarded with Palme d'Or in Cannes and went down in cinema history as one of the most important films of all time. The script was based on Julio Cortázar's “Las babas del Diablo” (in English titled “Blowup”). The protagonist, a fashion photographer, becomes witness to a certain situation during one of the photo-shoots in the park. Seeking the truth, he enlarges the photos he made and in the frames he notices the body of an elderly man. Antonioni depicts the helplessness of modern man chasing authenticity, and shows life as never-ending play-pretend. One of the scenes in “Blowup”, where a couple of mimes are hitting an invisible tennis ball, can be read as a metaphor of modern times. .

     

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  • People of the Po Valley / Ludzie Padu9'
    Michelangelo Antonioni, ITA 1947, 9'

    A film documenting the life of the people living in villages by the Po river – home regions of the director. Life of the Italian countrymen runs slowly, they spend all their time working hard. They do not complain, they cope with their fate with dignity, they are the “salt of the Earth.”

     

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  • Michelangelo Eye to Eye / Spojrzenie Michelangelo15'

    One of Antonioni's last works – “Michelangelo Eye to Eye” – is proof of the director's recognition of the immortality of art. A sculpture on the tomb of Julius II in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome – Moses by Michelangelo – becomes (the) object of the director's careful observation. Thanks to excellent light manipulation, the viewer gets the impression that the statue is also attentively observing Antonioni. In the face of art, one can see the mortality and imperfection of man. The picture had its premiere at the Film Festival in Cannes, where it received the prestigious FIPRESCI award for the best short film.

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  • Seven reeds, one suit / Siedem nitek, jedno ubranie11'

    The narrator is spinning a tale about a miracle, describing the mysterious processes that the viewer is witnessing. Here, in majestic buildings – fabric factories – as a result of a chemical storm, dark machines make art silk out of bamboo cane. The scientists’ genius, the workers’ diligence, and the technological progress make incredible things happen – mud-covered bamboo turns into a beautiful dress. A “miracle” happened, but for what price? Caprice of the wealthy costs the labourers many hours of hard work in difficult conditions.

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how to get there

14.11.2012