Rent Story of a Love Affair (1950)

Brilliant film - Story of a Love Affair review by LE

Surprisingly good. A pulpy film-noir plot but infused with Antonioni's cinema of alienation. Some brilliant long takes that help to show the unspoken distance between the characters. An astoundingly accomplished first film. The extras are a bit weird. Not terrible but it feels like they were all taken from a longer documentary. Why not just give us the full original documentary?

The Confidence Hasn't Turned Up Yet - Story of a Love Affair review by griggs

I went in mostly curious about where Michelangelo Antonioni's whole empty-room, empty-marriage thing actually started, and turns out the guy who'd later make audiences stare at architecture for ten minutes used to just make noir with better lighting.

The plot is pure pulp noir stuff: rich husband, restless wife, old flame, a murder plotted somewhere between cigarettes and self-pity. Lucia Bosè is doing all the heavy lifting — she's got that bored, lethal stare nailed even at nineteen, like she's already sick of every man who's ever looked at her twice. Her husband, meanwhile, comes across as a walking bank statement with a jealousy problem.

The good stuff happens around the plot rather than in it — corridors, half-built rooms, people staring at each other instead of talking. That's the Antonioni you actually came for, sneaking in through the side door.

Story and mood never quite agree on what film they're making. Still, you can see exactly where the confidence ends up going.