Blow-Up (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966)

Blow-Up (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966)
Rating: 10

There is so much to say about this art film disguised as a murder mystery as it follows a photographer in mod London who is basically a rock star. We get to see the exciting lifestyle of the main character unfold, as women throw themselves at him in order to achieve their own personal goals. Antonioni provides us with several incredibly arousing and erotic scenes without even introducing sex into the equation. The film also briefly touches on comparisons between modernity and tradition via the antique shop juxtaposed with the decadent swingers of contemporary England in the sixties. Antonioni also explores the moral sanctity of the public vs. private realms as the photographer takes photos of a couple in the park as well as homeless men in a shelter. I also found it fascinating how Thomas describes his photographs as violent, but intends to end his book with the "peaceful" photographs of the park" which he ends up finding violence in upon further inspection. The most interesting comparison brought to our attention however, is the blurred distinctions between fantasy perceptions and reality. The enlarged photographs are compared to the abstract paintings we are introduced to earlier in the film. Thomas sees a dead body and a gunman in the photos, but whether or not this is the reality of the situation is rather ambiguous. The bookended opening and final scenes with the mime troupe's performances insinuates that the murder was all in his imagination.