Red Desert (1964)

Il deserto rosso

A near-apocalyptic audiovisual tour de force, Antonioni’s first film in colour confirms his status as cinema’s poet laureate on the soul-sickness of modern man. Vitti plays Giuliana, a disaffected wife who stumbles through a bleak industrial landscape beset by power plants and environmental toxins, suffering from a mysterious and debilitating anxiety. When her husband’s friend Corrado (Richard Harris) shows sensitivity to her condition, and a tentative flirtation ensues, Giuliana’s mental deterioration continues. Antonioni's panoramic and spellbinding critique of technological malaise is a prescient ecological nightmare that continues a run of decade-defining artistic achievements.

Venice Film Festival 1964 – Winner, Golden Lion, FIPRESCI Prize, New Cinema Award
Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists 1964 – Winner, Silver Ribbon Best Cinematography

This screening is made possible with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute of Sydney and the Italian Cultural Institute of Melbourne.

Rating

PG

Duration

117 min

Country

Italy

Language

Italian (English subtitles)

Cast

Monica Vitti, Richard Harris, Carlo Chionetti

Director

Michelangelo Antonioni

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