The Passenger
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Movie Reviews of The Passenger
Movie Review: Excellent
Summary: 4 Stars
Michelangelo Antonioni's 1975 film, The Passenger (Professione: Reporter in Europe, and at one time called Fatal Exit), written by Antonioni, Peter Wollen, and Mark Peploe, is a terrific film that falls just shy of some of his truly great films like La Notte, L'Eclisse, and Blowup. That's because, despite Antonioni's usual visual brilliance, daring use of silences, and a unusually reserved performance from Jack Nicholson- one that is a bit of true acting, from long before he started phoning in performances; it is mild, void of memorable tics or quotes (save a humorous taking of Christ's name in vain in a German church that he reflexively apologizes to the air for, such as in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, The Shining, or Batman), the film grinds to an emotional and narrative halt whenever Maria Schneider (no relation) appears onscreen. Simply put, she's not that good of an actress- which is why she faded after the 1970s, in her first post-Last Tango In Paris role, and she's not even particularly physically attractive, even in a European sense. No, her sorry and dull performance is not enough to torpedo the film like the weak last half of L'Avventura does that film, but it is enough to keep the film from the pantheon. The Passenger was also Antonioni's third English language film, after Blowup and Zabriskie Point. Music is almost wholly absent in this film. Seeing is all important in Antonioni films, and the effect of such silences is jarring. Antonioni's use of silences and spaces in the film frame reminds of the visuals of Vermeer's paintings, usually set in rooms that exude silences.
The tale, what little there is of it, is very similar, from a macro perspective, to that in Blowup, in that much of what seems to be is not. The central character, Dave Locke (Nicholson), leads a shallow, anomic life as a documentary film reporter from England- who speaks with an American accent because he was educated in the States, a silly contrivance, who is trying to make not break news of a supposed war going on in an African country that is home to a pink desert with black mountains- perhaps Chad?, but instead of stumbling on to a mystery, as in Blowup, the lead character is the mystery. He impulsively switches places with a dead man, named Robertson (Charles Mulvehill) in a hotel room adjoining his, who could be a veritable doppelganger- the first of many coincidences in this film, after he has to walk back when his vehicle gets stuck in the desert after he goes to film rebels for a documentary. Such synchronicities are a major theme. The problem for Locke is that the ringer is a gun runner for the rebels in the meager little civil war that the country is enduring. This is the set up. However, this is all done with a bravura touch- as Locke stares deeply into Robertson's unblinking dead eyes, as if absorbing his identity, as a flute plays- the rare intercession of a soundtrack. The black Africans at the hotel never question Locke's claim that he is Robertson, despite not speaking with a British accent, as Antonioni nicely inverts the racist belief that all blacks look and sound alike, as the blacks cannot distinguish between two white men.
The film was beautifully shot by Luciano Tovoli in France, Spain, and North Africa and is shown in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The Sony Classics DVD transfer is excellent, although not quite as pristine as the DVD for Blowup, despite being a decade younger. The only extra features are the film's trailer, and the film commentaries by Nicholson, and one with Peploe and journalist Aurora Irvine. Nicholson seems to have recorded his commentary with a sore throat, and goes for long minutes without a word. He does have some insight, but overall the lack of insight into the film or its making makes the track seem superfluous. Nicholson may have done it only because he owns the rights to the film and felt his name on a commentary track could add to the film's DVD sales. Peploe adds some interesting technical comments, as well as letting us know that an interesting scene of ants walking up a wire in the African hotel was scripted.
That many dense American critics and viewers do not respond to Antonioni is sadly predictable, and an illustration of their frenetic MTV-level need to be spoonfed every possible detail and interpretation of a work of art, rather than engage it, imbue it, and find satisfactory answers to such queries on their own. Antonioni subverts such lowest common denominator expectations with ease and glee, and The Passenger is a terrific illustration of that claim, chock with its ellipses in time and narrative, as well as proof that film was the last century's most important and defining art form, well beyond writing or music, whose heydays were in earlier centuries. Its flaws are minors, but the things it offers to those willing to take from it are major. I say, be greedy.
Movie Review: Oblique, frustrating and fascinating
Summary: 4 Stars
Spoilers are in this review, so beware. This movie frustrated me at times, but in the end it was worth viewing. It is clear that the director flaunts narrative convention. That will bother many people enough to quit watching. Fair enough. In my case, it lead to wanting to learn more about the various threads in this film. Also, I would like to pose some questions that I feel were left open and to see if others noticed the same.
(spoilers follow) Other reviews suggest that the Girl was actually Robertson's wife (perhaps the Daisy he was meant to meet), due to the fact that she registers a room as Mrs. Robinson in the final act of the movie and in that same act, appears to be in some ways complicit with the assassins. It also explains why in the later appointments, no one else shows (the Barcelona appointment was broken because that meeting was with the African agent who is kidnapped in broad daylight in an earlier scene). "Daisy" was there to meet him, but doesn't reveal herself to him as she is already there as the Girl. She also convinces him to stay to complete his fruitless final appointment instead of escaping, as logically, he should have done in order to survive.
However, some things don't quite jive for me in that very handy explanation. First, as I watched the film, it seemed like the obvious narrative goalpost would be to make the Girl be "Daisy" Robinson or whatever name she may have had. This is the typical thriller plot used in many other films, where convenient coincidence move the stories, however, while the movie does play with those contrivances,in each case it seems to deliberately make sure that the coincidences don't actually pay off like one would expect! Example: it's seemed to me that at least Locke suspected the real Robinson was a homosexual. Note the scene that depicts their conversation at the first hotel: Robinson rests his hand right next to Locke's for a moment, before Locke slightly pulls his hand away. The placement and timing seemed somewhat odd to me. It seemed like too intimate a gesture for two isolated men to be making. Second, Locke's surprise when Daisy is first mentioned to him. The scene is setup to make it seem like Locke is simply caught off guard by the rebel agents, but *why* is he caught off guard? It makes more sense once Locke sarcastically replies to the Girl asking about the Daisy appointment. He wonders aloud that Daisy may turn out to be a man.
If he thought Robinson was gay, he would naturally be startled by any mention of a woman or a wife.
Also, it appears Locke's real wife sets off the real manhunt by the assassins. First, she naively informs the government embassy that Robinson is in Barcelona, then subsequently, two agents are seen trailing her as she goes to the police in Spain. If the Girl is the betrayer, why didn't they know his location earlier?
Then again, the two agents arrive before Locke's wife, so somehow they got a tip, but only enough to be a few minutes ahead of the police (they came too quick to be responding to the murder--they came straight to the hotel and the room). The scene is also setup to make one think that the hotel people were somehow in on it as well, note that the desk manager leans out the window and pulls the blinds down as Locke walks up, almost like some sort of signal. Also, the man leaning up to the door to listen into their conversation. And the assassin slips in with relative ease. Was it the Girl leaving the door unlocked or the staff letting him in? Notice, that there were at least 3 cars in the final scene (assassin car, car with sign on it and the police car). The timing and positions puzzle me and demand a repeat viewing when I get a chance. And although it seems certain Locke is dead since Nicholson appears to have said so in the commentary (I haven't heard that yet), we never see his face, and the ending shot almost seems like it's setup as an escape (though it is most likely a metaphorical one). I'll leave it to some other intrepid viewer to interpret all that is going on in the final minutes...
Movie Review: The Great Escape
Summary: 4 Stars
It's hard to judge this movie. It's meditative and windswept and transfers the feeling of traveling to remote places where you are an unknown amongst people you do not know. Its premise was more intriguing than the actual experience of watching the story unfold however, which is slow indeed. Being a traveler and amateur photography buff myself, I have great patience for looking at travel photos and find National Geographic magazine interesting, if not for the reading than at least for the photography of exotic places and the work of talented photographers. My girlfriend however doesn't have that same love of pictures and won't spend much time critcally analyzing what makes a picture good or bad..
So how to judge this movie becomes the issue for me. This is no high speed ride. It's fine cinematography with a few shots that are probably more famous than the movie (she in back of the car as the trees go by her is an incredibly beautiful visual image). The story again while conceptually interesting didn't go as deep for me as it seemed to for other reviewers. While forgivable, I didn't find the scenes where Jack interacts with the arms buyers extremely likely - he obviously looked like he didn't know what was going on and I didn't wholly buy their complete oblivion to this.. I liked the girl. She was a real work of art. Her presence in the movie made about as much sense as anything else, but I was glad she was there. It was a fun "what if" study. What if a man went to the extreme of getting rid of his whole history in this way? This idea is probably attractive to most people from time to time in their lives, so there's no question that the idea appeals. The next question is would such a thing be possible, and would it play out something like the way it is depicted in "The Passenger"? My gut reation to that is probably "no". But these are not the most important questions - like one of the interviewees says to Jack when he asks him loaded questions before an interview. The questions tell you more about the asker than the subject questioned. For me, the question is what makes this a good movie? Is it a good movie or a great movie? The answer will depend on the criterion that you bring.
If being intellectually or intuitionally intrigued is a condition for your idea of a great movie, then.. you will have to answer whether or not it does that for you. For me, there were moments. Definite moments. There was always this kind of vast isolation, and mild uneasiness wrapped up in a sense of possibility that didn't seem likely to produce. But the journey seemed a worthwhile one just for the sake of being what it was - an attempt to escape. Chances are, our watching these movies is nothing less than that same urge, on some level. Thus, the protagonists story has meaning and was worthwhile for me. Other things too, make it worthwhile. Antonioni's rendering of the story - the scenery and some of the scenes were worthwhile. One I liked - near the end, a little girl is casually blowing a bubble as Jack is walking by, and that pink bubble just gets bigger and bigger, but before it pops - the shot stops. The concept of the movie, the subdued loveliness of the actress very much a part of the Spanish landscape, the moments of sparse dialogue where brilliance occasionally flashes through - I tip my hat to all these things - but what keeps me from giving this movie 5 stars is that it didn't succeed in helping ME escape. And while the ending was fitting and somewhat ironic, it didn't blow me away content wise. And let me also say that while there are some good shots in this movie camerawise, there are also many that go on long enough to test your endurance. So much so, that I could go look outside my window for ten minutes and have a similar emotional reaction. Not usually what I go to the movies for. So, all things considered, the movie'll probably be even more interesting for viewers after they've seen it, should they care to think about it, rather than while they are undergoing the actual movie.
Movie Review: I'd Give This Movie a B+
Summary: 4 Stars
Michelangelo Antonioni's 1975 film "The Passenger" is set in North Africa, London and Barcelona where the Gaudi architecture alone would make the film worth seeing. Gaudi's work complements this exotic movie where things are seldom what they seem to be. A very young and slim Jack Nicholson is cast as David Locke, a British journalist who was educated in the United states-- hence no need for a British accent-- who is covering a war in Africa. While on assignment, he discovers the dead body of David Robertson, someone whom he resembles, and decides to take on the dead man's identity.
Nicholson gives a fine understated performance and only once ventures into the character that we now expect from him where his temper flares and proverbial heads roll. The scene occurs early in the film when, out of frustration, he attacks his vehicle stuck in the desert sand with a shovel. This is obviously Nicholson before "Five Easy Pieces," etc. It becomes obvious early on that this film is a director's rather than an actor's; Antonioni is in full control. There are beautiful images repeated, enough to satisfy the most pretentious of us. (For example, Nicholson stretches out his arms over Barcelona and a similar scene takes place when he and Maria Schneider are later riding in a convertible on a highway in Spain when she asks him what is he running from.) About Ms. Schneider-- she appears for all the world to have wandered in on this set from "Last Tango In Paris," having swapped one leading man for another. She plays the same sometimes sullen, often pouting, mumbling character as in the previous film. Are we to assume that this is the only role she can play?
Included on the DVD version is Nicholson's commentary on the film. He describes making this movie as "probably the biggest adventure of filming in my life," no small compliment to the director since Mr. Nicholson, for my money, is one of our best living actors and has created many memorable characters during his long career. One final word: the ending of this film is as suspenseful and effective as any you will ever see as well as ingeniously filmed.
Movie Review: Such great camera work; Nicholson is pretty good as well.
Summary: 4 Stars
Director Michelangelo Antonioni was a talented director who made such films as Zabriskie Point and Blow-Up. His films had a reputation of good cinematography. Zabriskie Point (in Death Valley) is one such film. The Passenger is another.
Jack Nicholson is very good as David Locke, a journalist who is hanging around with another foreigner, David Robertson, in Africa. Locke is a journalist, but not a terribly successful one, or maybe it's just bad luck. In any case, his buddy David and he are staying in the only hotel in town, and it's not much. Nicholson starts to draw a bath after a stint out in the desert, trying to interview some members of warring faction. He calls after his friend, and, getting no reaction, checks on him, and finds him dead.
On what seems like somewhat of a lark, Locke decides to assume Robertson's identity. As long as no one checks too closely, he can take over Robertson's life, by following notebook entries. It predictably leads to trouble, as Robertson turns out to have somewhat of a dangerous avocation. He meets and then hooks up with a young girl played by Maria Schneider.
In addition to the acting, the film has great appeal with the look. The vast, almost trackless desert of Africa at the beginning of the film, exteriors in a relatively lush Germany, and, perhaps most impressive of all, small-town Spain. The film ends on an eight minute shot starting in Locke's hotel room, slowly moving out to take in the exterior of the hotel. I'm not sure how he did the shot, as there is a large grate over the full-length window in the room. The camera ends up outside the hotel, somehow moving right through the grate, and turns around at the hotel the camera just came from. It's all one continuous take. It's truly a magnificent shot.
Recommended, for the job that Nicholson and Schneider managed in the firm. And, of course the great camera work.