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| DIRECTED BY |
| Michelangelo Antonioni |
| STARRING |
| David Hemmings |
| Vanessa Redgrave |
| Peter Bowles |
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Unfortunately, many people simply don't understand 'Blowup', and thus they disregard it as a dated and pretentious piece of kitsch. I didn't find 'Blowup' irritating in the least. Perhaps I could go with 'pretentious' on some scale, but I think brilliant would take precedence over that description.
The film is in no way a failure because of its seemingly plodding and unconventional pace. Antonioni decided to throw every Hollywood convention down the toilet and truthfully depict the serene yet insidious world in which its protagonist dwelled, with a psychedelic edge. The viewer who cannot or is not willing to accept this fact will simply not appreciate the film as a whole.
Take note of the subtleties within 'Blowup'. The concert scene, for one, is of primal importance. The inhabitants of the club listen to the band as if they're mindless drones, bored and weary with their lives. They do not react until the guitarist unleashes a violent paroxysm, smashing his guitar against the amp. This could be interpreted as a metaphor for Thomas's state of mind.
This is truly the first film that I've seen that explained so much of its meaning just within its soundtrack. Try to notice the subliminal subtleties of sound in it such as wind rustling in the trees as Thomas analyzes his infamous park photographs and a tennis game being played during the mimicry scene at the end. Many of Antonioni�s methods here may seem more aimless than relevant to the actual film, but really they're all brilliant pieces of a wonderfully complex puzzle.
In what other film has the simple sound of breezing wind been so memorable? The photography scene within the park is also done during the day, not the night, yet it manages to be completely chilling. During that scene, there is no ridiculous music on the soundtrack, trying to stress the importance of the scene. Instead, Antonioni conveys a voyeuristic feeling as if we're right there, in the London park with Thomas.
However, my favorite subtlety in 'Blowup' is definitely the scene in which Thomas turns around in his car after parking next to the club and notices Jane standing there, and by some virtuoso editing (especially for the 1960s,) we can see (if watched closely) her body suddenly vanish out of thin air as she walks away.
The ultimate message of the film is a subjective one and Antonioni refuses to just lay it all out for the less patient viewer, however, the explanations are there. Love it or hate it, 'Blowup' deserves to be watched with an open mind.
