As you explore the outer edges of the Criterion galaxy as we do each year, you often are reminded of what a momentous movement the French New Wave was to the cinema world. Not just because there are so many French New Wave films in the Criterion Collection (and by extension the classic and arthouse cinema cannon), but also because there are so many important films that were either influenced by or ended up influencing the French New Wave. Today’s film falls into the latter category, as it wasn’t a huge hit in Italy or internationally when it came out, but it was championed by the critics at Cahiers Du Cinema that would soon start directing movies of their own. It also must be a film that had at least somewhat of an impact on Italian cinema, since it’s hard not to think of Antonioni’s L’Avventura while watching the couple at the heart of this story aimlessly search for meaning against the backdrop of coastal Italy. Continue reading
