La Notte (1961)

La Notte (1961) is the portrait of an unhappy, rapidly unraveling marriage. It's an examination of loneliness and aloneness, isolation and intimacy, intellectualism and sensuality. Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau play Giovanni and Lidia, two beautifully sad creatures dripping with ennui. Over the course of a day, the couple visit a dying friend, attend Giovanni's book launch party, visit a nightclub (where they enjoy a mesmerizing dance performance involving contortion and red wine), attend a party at a wealthy business man's estate (cue commerce v. art dialog), and commit infidelity to varying degrees.

Yet the shroud of darkness following these two through their day, together and apart, never diminishes their ability to seemingly glide across the screen with such heart-breaking grace. It's a stunning film. Director Michelangelo Antonioni and Cinematographer Gianni Di Venanzo craft a deftly shaded piece of work. I love the shots of Lidia wandering the crumbling city, accompanied by an echoing soundtrack of her clicking heels. Gorgeous.

The film was a welcome escape on a cold, snowy day. It reminds me in, in its style, something I've often felt when watching Bergman's films: the simultaneity of a kind of shiny metallic distance, and a deeply raw intimacy.

I'll admit I originally sought out this film because it was the movie Don Draper watched when he slipped out of the office to catch a matinee, and was the only intimate offering he extended to Bobbi, before crashing his car on their drunken drive to the beach. If Don Draper likes it, it's swank to be sure.

But, I'm quite glad I did. Last week, I re-watched La Dolce Vita (also staring Mastroianni), and I think it's time for a mid-20th-century Italian Film Refresher. So, here's what my netflix queue is looking like:

• La Notte is part of a trilogy. So, I'll be checking out L' Avventura (1960) and L' Eclisse (1963).
  
• I haven't really watched Michelangelo Antonioni's films, so I've also flixed Story of a Love Affair (1950) and Blowup (1966).
• Marcello Mastroianni was dreamy to watch, so I'll be checking out Too Bad She's Bad (1954), Le Notti bianche (1957), Yesterday, today, and tomorrow (1953), and The 10th Victim (1965). Sophia Loren appears in two of these. I'm guessing they are a smoking couple on screen.

Moving to other big names in Italian Cinema

• Vittorio De Sica - I've seen The Bicycle Thief several times (and it's fantastic, sad, and lovely - highly recommended) so I thought I'd check out Umberto D. (1952), another of his oft-lauded works.
  
• De Sica and his contemporaries are ususually associated with the italian neorealism movemen. I plan to watch The Railroad Man (1956), another prime example from the genre.
  
• Federico Fellini - I've seen several of Fellini's films, and am planning to see the restored version of Amarcord at SIFF Jan 2 - 8, so I picked out two I haven't yet seen: I Vitelleoni (1956) and The Swindle (1955)
• The Conformist (1970), directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, is a film I've heard referenced for years, so I figured this would be a good time to finally sit down and watch it. Looks to be an interesting look at Italian facism, a theme also often visited by Fellini. It might also make for an interesting comparison with some German post-tyranny literature.