Il mare

The excellent score for this first film of Giuseppe Patroni Griffi is by Giovanni Fusco, preferred composer of Michelangelo Antonioni. It was Antonioni's seminal 'L' Avventura' that created a new cinematic language without which Griffi's film would not have been possible. There are distinct echoes of Antonioni here with themes of ennui and the fundamental impossibility of relationships although the angst is tempered by touches of ironic humour.

The images of off-season Capri are beautifully captured by Enno Guarnieri whilst the principles perform with finesse.

An interesting piece which serves as an introduction to a director whose subsequently 'arty' output is never likely to be of universal appeal.

The program booklet for the 1963 New York Film Festival (first one ever) shows that "Il mare" was scheduled for one screening on September 17 at 6:30. The blurb made reference to the Venice Film Festival showing where the movie had been "greeted by one of those sessions of prolonged booing, hissing, and cat-calls that, at festivals, generally herald a masterpiece." Later the film received non-theatrical distribution in 16mm by Audio Brandon Films. I do not believe it was shown commercially anywhere in the U.S., though it may have had minor runs and was shown by film societies on college campuses and elsewhere before the prints were withdrawn from distribution. I first saw it in Providence in April 1980 when the local Italian American Cultural Society sponsored one showing at the Cable Car Cinema.

I recently saw it again on an unsubtitled DVD from a private source. What I remembered of the film, its stark atmosphere and the special beauty of off-season Capri, superbly photographed, still held true for me. Also holding true was the stunning pretentiousness and Antoniennui (to borrow Andrew Sarris' clever coinage)of the whole piece, like a directorial wet-dream inspired by the island sequences of "L'Avventura." It has fine photogenic actors speaking some impossible dialog. It is a synthesis and time-capsule and reductio-ad-absurdum of early 1960s art house cinema, beautiful yet unbearable, requiring multiple cups of the free espresso the art cinemas of that epoch used to supply their patrons to kick-start them back into the world of the living.

Three characters, a man played by Umberto Orsini, a youth played by Dino Mele and a woman played by Francoise Prevost move around each other in winter on the deserted island of Capri. I think the constant reference to an almost Antonioni inspired film is a mistake. Patroni-Griffi had his own vision of the difficulty of human and sexual contact, but adds another dimension to love's possibilities and that is homosexual desire. The man and the youth do not consummate their attraction and Francoise Prevost, lost to her own desires tries to satisfy the man. This trio unlike the one in Antonioni's ' L'Avventura ' do not lose one of the three and sadly Antonioni in my opinion had no conception of homosexuality, other than two stereotypes swishing through the streets of London in ' Blow Up. ' Griffi was clearly well aware that love has two poles of loving, hetero and homo and perhaps he was aware that the cinema of the early 1960's was not ready to see at least a physical outcome to male desire. I have ' Il Mare ' with English subtitles and is it still ignorance or homophobia that prevents its distribution on DVD ? I would like to challenge those who prefer to ignore this film's existence to come out of their heterosexual closets and to equally acknowledge that this is not some niche film that they can avoid. It is a fine film, beautifully filmed and acted and is in my opinion one of the greatest Italian films of its period. A lost film that can be found, but perversely remains lost. As mysterious a situation as the lost woman on Antonioni's island but even that mystery had its reasons if Antonioni had decided so. Distributors decide and they can on this masterpiece.

This is one of the lost masterpieces of Italian cinema. But where can you see it? I'm not going to give away the plot, but anyone who liked L'Avventura would surely enjoy this.

Derek Jarman once told me it was his favourite film. It has all the elements of Antonioni and much, much more. It is definitely ripe for rediscovery. Maybe some enterprising film distributor (Mr Bongo?) will read this and take note!

It doesn't make sense that so many 3rd rate Italian comedies of this period are available in various countries, but this serious film is completely unknown.

This truly is an undiscovered Italian masterpiece.For anyone who really appreciates L'Avventura, this is as evocative and deeply understated in similar ways. The relationship between the three main players, all lonely and distant,hints at possibilities that are subtle and multi layered. Set in Capri, which itself is really one of the most beautiful spots on our planet,it is even more interesting because it is set in off season Capri,when all tourists have vacated the island,which makes it even more hauntingly beautiful.The cinematography and is really quiet beautiful with much thought obviously been given to camera angles. As the previous reviewer has stated such a shame when so many mediocre movies are released ,its truly amazing this gem has not been released on DVD or Blu Ray.....but one lives in hope, over the years many of my favourites seem to eventually come out, so lets see.