While Antonioni’s portrayal of Cortazar’s “Blow-up” stays faithful to themes of boredom and its effects on the human mind, the important change from a homosexual act to murder does a couple things, in my opinion, to weaken the story. First off, by changing the plot point to murder, Antonioni robs the film of some subtlety and intimacy. What drives the protagonist to obsession, instead of being personal and something everyone might not find so wrong, is boredom. (The protagonist never shows any particular sympathy for the victim) Which leads to the second way in which the removal of the homosexual aspect weakens the narrative. By the end of Cortazar’s short story the reader wonders about the hero Michel and his psyche, whether he is depressed, paranoid, latently homosexual, or all three. By the end of Antonioni’s film the audience only wonders what really happened, we are not given as much insight into the main character and so we do not care as much. The films depiction of the ennui felt by the hero is extremely well done, lines like “I wish I had tons of money, then id be free” coming from a man driving a Rolls Royce convertible highlights the despair of any man who supposedly has everything, women, money, and fame and no goals to reach for. In the end the film is saved by wonderful cinematography and a soundtrack that mimics real life, songs in between silence.
Blow Up
05 Tuesday Nov 2013
Posted in Discussion, General
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