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Reviews
Storie di ordinaria follia (1981)
Ben Gazzara Wasted, Both Literally and Figuratively
This movie is an insult to film, acting and the legacy of Bukowski. This is the only movie I have ever seen where I stood up in the theater and actually shouted at the characters on screen. That I received a round of applause after my outburst should speak volumes. If you ever see a copy of this on VHS or DVD buy it and burn it as a public service. Go watch Barfly or Factotum.
Professione: reporter (1975)
So...That Happened
I watched Michelangelo Antonioni's "The Passenger" last night. It's a very dull and self indulgent film that gives you a few beautiful camera moves but not much else. I suppose, in 1974, this was a very deep and meaningful film, but today it comes off as an art film without much of a story to tell. Jack Nicholson, who I absolutely adore, plays a reporter who discovers a friend dead in a hotel room in Africa. He decides to assume this mans identity, mainly by switching passport pictures, and goes about trying to occupy this other mans life. What I found difficult is, while that last descriptive sentence was pretty brief, it takes you the whole movie to figure out that plot line. Not much is said and, because of the films pacing, you have to assume a lot as to why Nicholson's character would NEED to make this switch. What we see is one mildly interesting person switch places with another mildly interesting person. Not much is accomplished otherwise.
The locations in this film are all stunning and we travel all around the world but we're traveling with a boring guide who wears his ennui like a heavy coat.
At one point he meets Maria Schneider from "Last Tango in Paris" and she asks who he is. He says "I used to be somebody else...but I traded him in." Schneider is given very little to do in this film aside from looking around and facilitating Nicholson's introspective musings. She could have at least done that topless.
That's as much understanding as you're going to get from Antonioni, by the way. Everything else is brooding and staring and long uninterrupted shots of landscapes. Oh, except for that footage of a man being executed that is supposed to be part of the documentary Nicholson was working on in Africa. That footage is absolutely real. So in the midst of these quiet moments of introspection and self examination, which I'm guessing is the reason for all the long brooding scenes with no one talking, we get to see a guy actually shot by a firing squad.
I don't know. If you like this sort of art house stuff then you'll probably love this film. According to another IMDb review, people either love or hate this film. I, however, found it empty and wanting. A few more straightforward flashbacks to WHY Nicholson's character wants to give up his life and maybe I could have understood why he was doing what he does but, as it is, you're left with brooding and silence and speculation.
Maybe that's the whole reason for the film. Maybe the point is you're supposed to watch "The Passenger" and reflect on your own empty existence. Maybe it's the most brilliant thing ever put on film and I'm too American to get it.
Maybe I'll shut up now.