As Amigas

Lighter (at times), more emotionally complex, yet symbolically simpler than later films by Antonioni. This reminded me more of Fellini, Woody Allen, and (in the lighter, early moments) even Almodovar.

It goes without saying that the film is great looking (could Antonioni frame a bad shot?). And it has lots of plot, surprising from a filmmaker who soon after ran from traditional plot and story. Lovers change hands, lives rise and fall among five female friends (artists, clothing designers, etc).

This is labeled a masterpiece by some, but to me it felt a bit too soapy, and some of the characters and performances a bit one note or on-the-nose to raise it to quite that level. I was never bored, and the images were thrilling, but I didn't find myself caring deeply on a conventional level, nor drawn in on a more intellectual, poetic level as the later Antonioni films do. But all that said, I'm still glad I saw it.

Michelangelo Antonioni's tale of postwar Italian women in the big city trying to make right their loves and their lives is a powerful and moving melodrama that does not rely on as much high-strung emotion scenes as you would initially think. The film begins with a captivating establishing shot of the skyline of Turin, a smaller Italian city that nevertheless is bustling and adapting to the incredible changes Italy experienced after the devastation of World War II. Now, women are at nearly the same level as men in terms of work placement and influence in the community.

The connection to the audience is Clelia, who has moved to Turin from Rome to run a new salon. She immediately conflicts with two men, one who is the architect of the salon and the other a painter while falling for another, he being the architect's assistant. Soon, she has endeared herself to a small group of closely-knit friends who seem to know or at least suspect all of each other's secrets. Because she is an outsider, we are able to view this group in the same way she does. Some of these people we sympathize with such as Lorenzo the painter who is married, has a suicidal mistress who loves him deeply yet still remains terribly unhappy. What we are left with is a touching tale of women finding this new world in which they occupy terribly different and exciting.

Fashion is a big part of this story, which Antonioni seems to use as a way of showing the shell in which these characters protect themselves to avoid true emotional commitment. Some will dislike the film for being somewhat soapy and relying too much on subplots that are irrelevant to the overall story, but here Antonioni is establishing themes and techniques he would use in later films that now define his style. Alienation, ambiguous emotions and indifferent attitudes are ever present here, which gives us a different flavor of a melodrama than American films tend towards. Besides the important themes Antonioni presents, his craft is also engaging, showcasing his rising talent that would make him a staple of world cinema.

Lorenzo Codelli introduced this film as the only real literary adaptation by Michelangelo Antonioni, based on a short novel written by Cesare Pavese, whose short life but impressive career had a largely influential impact on Antonioni's works. It's a film about women (the literal translation of the title of the story "Tra Donne Sole" means "Between Women Only"), in today's context known as the career girls, and it's also interesting to note that the co-writers of the screenplay were both female, each on opposite ends of the literary spectrum, one a "low-brow" pulp novelist, the other a "high-brow" writer.

And I guess this pairing provided a very complete and enjoyable story which in today's contemporary context would classify if as a chick flick, only that this had plenty of intelligence and a lot of heart, and doesn't come across as a dumbed down condescending story with many cardboard characters thrown in just because. Opening with a sprightly tune, and set in Turn, La Amiche has plenty of insights into the female psyche, and I am quite surprised that it had stood the test of time (more than 50 years!) to be as relevant today just as it was back in the mid-50s.

The story follows Clelia (Eleonara Rossi Drago) from Rome, sent to Turin to supervise the setting up of a fashion boutique branch, and in her temporary stay at the city, befriends a group of high-society and debatable successful ladies through the attempted suicide of one of their clique members Rosetta (Madeleine Fischer), who was found in her adjoining hotel room. From there we examine all their love lives, their work attitudes, their relationships with one another, the entire spectrum which while presenting themselves as little gossipy episodes that women might be prone to (I'm readying myself to be pelted with rotten tomatoes with that statement), it always felt that each individual piece was a perfect contribution to the entirety of the movie, with nary a wasted scene, nor unnecessary subplots provided just to bloat the story.

Antonioni has proved his deftness at handling an ensemble of characters (much unlike his earlier movies, or his famed Trilogy where only a handful of characters get explored) like the de-facto leader of the group Momina De Stefani (Yvonne Fumeaux) whose rich husband being always away on business provides her with an avenue for affairs and the need for constant emotional connection, or what I thought was the more interesting of the lot, was between successful ceramics artist Nene (Valentina Cortese) and her less successful painter fiancé Lorenzo (Gabriele Ferzetti), who becomes romantically linked to Rosetta after painting her portrait, or rather, it was Rosetta who throws herself at him. Completing the group is Mariella (Anna Maria Pancani), a flighty flirty woman with a devil-may-care attitude.

For some reason I was concentrating on the Lorenzo-Nene-Rosetta story, because it was quite compelling to see how it played out and developed, having one of them throw the first salvo at attempted suicide. It also provided a platform to examine how relationships can be strained possibly through emotions like jealousy and one being envious of the other's success, and maybe taking it out on the person through other means, such as the breaking of hearts. Again like Story of a Love Affair (I have no idea why I keep going back to this) it was a similar situation presented, though more explicitly presented rather than leaving it to second guesses. The confrontational scene between Nene and Rosetta was the best in the movie in my opinion, and one of the best I have seen in movies where rival lovers have to confront each other on the truth of the situation, and you can hear the unbelievable groans of an audience upon its resolution, which was quite pathetic and awkwardly delivered, by today's standards. Which is what was intriguing, as it highlighted the perceived role of a woman back then, that the career first mindset was still a novelty, and standing behind your man was possibly the only acceptable societal norm.

And it is this forward-thinking presentation and exploration of modern day themes even by today's standards, that make La Amiche a winner, being still relevant and all. Having 5 girls presented allowed for some comparisons over how some choose love over career despite expected setbacks which come part and parcel with it, and how some choose career over love, where one can excel in without the distractions of disappointment from the heart. Included as well is work ethics, when one doesn't have money as a prime motivator, one would wonder how the other non-tangible benefits would appeal to workers who have to turn up at work everyday, versus coming and going as they please, which I have experienced for myself (as on the receiving end of having to manage the non-attendance of others).

Other moments in the film that were equally enjoyable, include the fashion runway type shows in the old days, without the runway of course, where models have to present the clothes up close and personal in a closed door, intimate setting within the fashion boutique. And what was probably a precursor to the beach scene in L'Avventura get played out here, though it was a location for the rich folks to just stand around and flirt, with no real plan for a weekend getaway. It's still amazing how this particular little setting seem to squeeze so much into it, providing a catalyst for future incidents to burst out from.

Le Amiche will go down in my books as a story starring women, about women and for women that is still highly relevant in today's society. It has withstood the test of time perfectly, and its exploration of women, their relationships, their attitudes that differ depending on either their single or married status, is an amalgamation of keen observations that make this an enjoyable a must-watch, peppered with good punctuations of humour throughout.

Viewed today Michaelangelo Antonioni's "Le Amiche" feels like a dry-run for his great trilogy of alienation that began with "LAvventura". This movie isn't in the same class but it is still very fine. It's like Cukor's "The Women" minus the laughs as lonely, pragmatic Clelia, (an excellent Eleonora Rossi Drago), returns to her native Turin and falls in with a group of rich, bored and, in one case, suicidal women and equally bored and cynical men, the one exception being Carlo, (Ettore Manni), with whom she starts some kind of relationship.

If it's not quite as densely plotted as "L'Avventura" and if there are no set-pieces to equal those that were to come later in Antonioni's work it nevertheless displays a very cool intelligence that never panders to the clichés of this kind of female orientated picture; there are no hints of lesbianism and the friendships are fickle at best. Even as early as 1955 Antonioni was hooked on that old ennui. Not one of his masterpieces, perhaps, but an essential part of the Antonioni canon all the same.

Clelia (Eleonora Rossi Drago), an elegant lady from Rome, comes to her hometown Turin in order to check if the works would fit the dates in the house where she is going to establish her new fashion salon. When she stays at a hotel, a terrible event takes place in the opposite room 112...a young woman, Rosetta Savone (Madeleine Fischer), has attempted to commit suicide... Why? The answer lies in the complicated relations of a group of women whom Rosetta has known for long and whom Clelia joins as a friend. Although the action starts in "media res" and the events constitute about 7 days, the characters from this movie are unforgettable as well as its content filled with wonderful thoughts about significant aspects of life and happiness. Therefore, although Michelangelo Antonioni is famous worldwide not thanks to this movie, I consider LE AMICHE one of his very best cinema works. Let me discuss some of the film's strongest points in more details.

The film can boast a particularly rich character development. The girlfriends (title "amiche") are mostly women from leisure social classes who spend their lives on unimportant cases, particularly clothes, parties, and Sunday afternoon trips to the seaside. Momina De Stefani (Yvonne Furneaux) is the oldest of them but at the same time the most selfish. She treats life as a game to play limiting it to perfumes, beauty creams and clothes. It is her that bores Rosetta most by her cynical behavior. Mariella (Anna Maria Pancani), a woman that today men would describe "a dolly", represents this vanity most. She thinks the woman's dress is skin and is ready to do anything to look beautiful. In between comes Nene (Valentina Cortese) who is rather torn psychologically between her interests and the reality she lives in (marriage). Rosetta is tired of living with them and looks for a true and stable happiness with a man she cannot marry... Throughout the film, a viewer can feel what characters feel since great focus is put on emotions. However, it would be a limited view to say that only female characters are developed. There are also men who step in with their different world-views. The emphasis is put on Lorenzo (Gabrielle Ferzetti), Nene's husband, an artist painter whose career and family life are exposed to crisis. He cannot stand the vanity of the women but at the same time is torn between his desire for career and the marriage he lives in. Finally, Cesare (Franco Fabrizi), an architect, man from high society represents rather an arrogant person but in the end, someone who does not treat problems as seriously as Lorenzo. In this way, LE AMICHE is not only a story of women but, foremost, an interesting insight into male-female relations, their different world-views, different feelings. Consider Rosetta-Lorenzo conversation and the two different ways they see love...

Besides, Antonioni's movie is a treasure of psychological thoughts and treatment of significant issues of life. Here, a mention must be made of Nene-Lorenzo's marriage and the aspect of forgiveness. "A childless couple can stay together only for love" says Nene to Rosetta in their conversation that is a masterpiece of acting and script by Suso Cecchi d'Amico. Yet, forgiveness cures everything... Apart from that, the words that a salon's lady says to Clelia are also worth consideration: "Happiness means no reflecting upon if I am happy or not but simply living my life." I also loved the moment when Rosetta travels by train with Clelia and they talk about the need of friends, the gist of being happy and the best possible way to live life. How intellectually these problems are treated! Magnificent! And all this embedded in the interesting gentle tunes by Mario Fusco.

The cast give such fine performances that viewers have a chance to get to know the characters much better than in many other films. Yvonne Furneaux is exceptionally memorable as cynical and calm nerved Momina whose sole aim of life is the good appearance and who plays with others' feelings. Eleonora Rossi Drago is very sensible as Clelia expressing her elegance and positive character of a woman who finds happiness in her satisfying work. Madeleine Fischer is wonderful as Rosetta Savone, a desperate person who cannot live a happy life. Finally, Valentina Cortese is unforgettable as Nene, probably the fairest of them all ready to sacrifice everything and forgive everything.

LE AMICHE shows the life from its objective perspective and therefore it is a movie absolutely worth attention for anybody. LE AMICHE is filled with profound thoughts even if its content seems to be filled with vanity and therefore, it is Antonioni's psychological masterpiece. LE AMICHE is an empathy with those in despair and therefore, it is not dated though more than 50 years old. Finally, LE AMICHE is characterized by great performances and therefore, it is a pearl among Italian films. Pity that there are so few comments on the site. 8/10!