La Notte (1961) - English subtitled
In the second instalment of Antonioni's love trilogy, a woman has to face up to the fact that her marriage to a celebrated writer is wearing off.
In Michelangelo Antonioni’s follow-up to the epochal L’AVVENTURE Monica Vitti – substituting her distinctive blonde coif for a raven black hairdo – smoulders as the temptress that further complicates the relationship between a novelist and his frustrated wife. Over the course of one night, the married couple confront their alienation from each other and the achingly empty bourgeois Milan circles in which they travel.
One of the masterworks of 1960s cinema, LA NOTTE marked yet another development in the continuous stylistic evolution of its director and showcased Vitti’s ability to captivate the screen even if her role was minor. Moodily sensual cinematography and subtly expressive performances make LA NOTTE an indelible illustration of romantic and social deterioration.