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By: Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
Date: 21st May 08
Format: Festival
Mood: Nostalgic
What:
Michelangelo Antonioni Retrospective
When:
May 23 - 29
Where:
Cinema Nova
Win:
We have two double passes to give away to Nova's screening of Beyond the Clouds at 9.30pm on Tues May 27. It is a Wim Wenders homage to Antonioni's work. To enter, email win@threethousand.com.au with the subject line ‘there's always time for mime tennis'
When Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni died within a week of each other almost a year ago, it felt like a failed Punk'd sketch: some ghoulish, almighty Ashton had played a joke on European art cinema in the poorest of taste. If anything, it meant the work of two distinct directors suddenly merged in the popular consciousness into a single, generic art-monster: the dreaded Bergmioni. But never fear: the Antonioni retrospective at the Melbourne Italian Festival is here to save the day, one glorious masterpiece at a time.
The documentary Beyond the Clouds celebrates the scope of Antonioni's films, many of which will be screened throughout the festival. Another highlight is the iconic Blowup (1966), a modernist orgy of '60s London hipsterdom that sees the brutally modish David Hemmings tackling murder, art, epistemology, and the contents of Vanessa Redgrave's rocket bra. While its influence is broad (fellow Italians Brian Depalma and Dario Argento have both paid tribute), Blowup gets kudos for proving once that there is no such thing as inappropriate mime-tennis. Take that, Bergman!