Overview
Plot:
A woman disappears during a Mediterranean boating trip. But during the search, her lover and her best friend become attracted to each other.
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Awards:
Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards.
Another 3 wins
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1 nomination
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User Comments:
Not the director's absolute best picture (that goes to Blowup)
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Additional Details
Also Known As:
The Adventure (International: English title) (literal title) (UK)
The Fling (International: English title)
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Runtime:
145 min
Aspect Ratio:
1.78 : 1
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MOVIEmeter: 
5% since last week
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Fun Stuff
Trivia:
First part of the unofficial "Incommunicability Trilogy" with
Notte, La (1961) and
Eclisse, L' (1962).
Michelangelo Antonioni didn't make the three movies as a trilogy, but cinema historians have called it so since then.
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Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: During the sequence in which Sandro and the newspaper reporter cross a street, the shadows of the camera and the crew are clearly and prolongedly visible on the actors and on the street surface.
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IMDb message board for Avventura, L' (1960)
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...yet any viewer can see why L'Avventura (in English "The Adventure", which is interesting considering what unfolds) put him on the map in the art-film/new-wave era. He tells a story of a group of high-society types, the kind that seem all the more empty as they are examined character wise, who on a boat trip stop on an island to walk around, when a woman, Anna (Lea Massari), goes missing. They search for her, send out more people to search for her, but as the film progresses it can be seen that the search for her is futile, and it becomes an existentialist examination of the character played by Ferzetti and Vitti.
The major flaw that I can see with L'Avventura is that it's at times a bit too assured with it's own storytelling skills, and occasionally it plods along. However the story works most of the time and it's non-formulaic structure keeps it very credible. But, what made me take notice and not nod out at all during the picture was the whole aura, the atmosphere. Antonionni, along with his director of photography Aldo Scavarda, always have a beautiful shot up on the screen, scenes which may seem of desperation are perfectly captured in the frames and any one could be freeze-framed and put on a wall to view like a painting (another film like this could be Raging Bull). On that level of pure skill and movement, as well as the realistic character development, L'Avventura is an accomplished piece of filmmaking. Important, to be sure, though some may feel turned off after a while. Grade: A