• An impressive achievement from Antonioni
  • A long take opening lingering on Lucia Bosé through the credits along the street
  • Remarkable early scene that has the trademarks of Antonioni’s trademark mise-en-scene—a kiss on a bed, camera glides in and the image becomes a mural
  • Not just the opening- long takes throughout
  • Mise-en-scene detail- nothing is mistaken or accidental, flowers, Christ figures, some may balk at it being too on the nose but I love it (and he doesn’t dwell on it) but there’s an actual spider above the bed in a web- wow
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  • Antonioni mostly, just decides not to cut, shows five people in the frame at once and different depth plane levels—or he’ll move and reframe—there’s a shot later where he reframes four times (much like Renoir)
  • He tackles film and the nihilistic world of the industry here- in the actual text he says “with neo-realism they film everywhere”
  • There’s an entire scene and debate in front of a gorgeous tapestry as they fight about her career in front of her (spider web, behind bars)
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  • In the text they tackle Joan of Arc– they actually mention Ingrid Bergman (though not in relation to this) and at this time the narrative becomes somewhat meta—of course Rossellini (like a character here) directed his wife Bergman, she plaid Joan of Arc (in 1948) though not for Minnelli (it was Victor Fleming I believe)—they mention “Lido” or Venice as film festival
  • About the social upper class and wealthy like all of his works except for Il Grido
  • Shows her behind fences/bars again and again 
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  • Shot of Bosé reacting in the foreground to her lover calling—and there are two men talking about her husband’s suicide attempt walking downstairs in the background- gorgeous sequence
  • Another one with her on the phone in foreground- three layers behind her at different depths
  • Minor characters becoming major and vice versa is an Antonioni trademark
  • Two people walking together- adultery
  • Another nice shot- an entire conversation filmed form the back seat of a car showing only the back of heads in one take
  • Flowers in almost every scene
  • A devastating finale. She’s lost- selling out and without answers. Her Ex-husband in background looking on with ambiguity
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  • HR