Michelangelo Antonioni’s penultimate film was Identification of a Woman, and like so many of his movies, it delves into unhappy relationships, a societal conflict between a life of privilege and comfort and a life where those things are immaterial, and enigmatic women and the men who either can’t please them or can’t be pleased. It’s a somber piece, filled with his usual pessimism about life and love and the materialistic world which seems to corrupt everything, but it’s a tune he had played many, many times in the past, and by 1982, its melody had grown more than a bit stale.
Identification of a Woman (Blu-ray)
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Studio: Criterion
Year: 1982
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 130 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: PCM 1.0 Italian
Subtitles: English
Region: A
MSRP: $29.95
Release Date: October 25, 2011
Review Date: October 29, 2011
The Film
2.5/5
Italian film director Niccolò (Tomas Milian) has reached a point of ultimate frustration both personally and professionally. His love affair of several months with the aristocratic Mavi (Daniela Silverio) is winding down despite the fact that their sex play remains enthusiastic and fulfilling for them both, but he’s closed off from her upper class world, and he doesn’t seem interested in introducing her to his sister (Sandra Monteleoni) or any of his friends. Professionally, he’s stalled before starting his next movie because he can’t find the female face to serve as his muse. After Mavi disappears mysteriously, Niccolò begins seeing stage actress Ida (Christine Boisson), but while they also enjoy each other’s company, he can’t bring himself to say the “l word” which she desperately wants to hear. He’s also continuing to search for Mavi’s whereabouts which hurts Ida's feelings tremendously.
Antonioni’s script doesn’t offer us much in the way of plot or characterization. We’ve seen these types before: work-consumed artist, unhappy sophisticate, loving rebound girl who’s really second choice, and we don’t see the writer-director doing anything particularly interesting with them though he mixes and matches his characters in a variety of nicely apppointed locales. The film’s most striking sequence occurs on a spontaneous trip to the shore as Nick and Mavi drive though the thickest fog imaginable in a hair-raising sequence that’s well sustained and genuinely tense. Its symbolic meanings, of course, are beyond obvious as the couple’s instability and hesitant groping toward something significant keep them in a constant state of metaphoric confusion, but it’s nevertheless a memorable moment in the film visually and dramatically. Of course, Antonioni doesn’t stint on the sex scenes either offering up four different ones in the course of the movie and with the more open times of the 1980s, full frontal nudity for both participants is on display. The tone is so sour and serious, however, that finding pleasure in the journey of these three morose people is difficult if not pointless. As is usually the case with his work, revelations don’t generally lead to satisfying conclusions but rather to more problems or more frustrations for the characters and for the viewer. With his best work some twenty years before this film, nothing here seems worth the trouble, and at over two hours, it’s a lengthy trip to nowhere very interesting.
Tomas Milian doesn't show much spark outside of the bedroom as the famous Italian director, and his droopy demeanor would appear to be a turn off for just about anyone. Both Daniela Silverio and Christine Boisson convey the frustration of dealing with an unsatisfying relationship quite well, and Sandra Monteleoni as Nick's sister likewise makes some brief but notable appearances in the movie making us wish we knew more about her as possibly a way to gain insight into him.
Video Quality
4/5
The film has been framed at its theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is presented in 1080p using the AVC codec. Sharpness is usually well presented and maintained throughout, and that lengthy sequence in the fog is handled superbly in high definition with not a trace of false contouring. Color values seem to vary throughout the movie with sometimes accurate flesh tones and at other times textures that appear somewhat pasty or chalky. Some vivid shots of the sun used in two different places in the movie show no noise, another plus for the transfer. There is some banding to be seen in lighter colored backgrounds on occasion, and black levels are never better than good. The white subtitles are very easy to read throughout. The film has been divided into 24 chapters.
Audio Quality
3/5
The PCM 1.0 (1.1 Mbps) uncompressed sound mix contains omnipresent hiss that at some points is loud enough to be distracting. There is occasionally some attenuated crackle that can be discerned, but it’s not a constant problem. The movie was post synched, so that airless, dry dialogue has the familiar flat sound of post dubbing while sound effects also sound somewhat exaggerated and unnatural. Dialogue is always discernible, however.
Special Features
2/5
The film’s theatrical trailer runs 3 ½ minutes in 1080p.
The enclosed 29-page booklet contains the chapter listing, the cast and crew lists, some stills from the film, film critic John Powers’ celebration of the movie, and a 1982 magazine interview with director Antonioni conducted by critic Gideon Bachmann.
The Criterion Blu-rays include a maneuvering tool called “Timeline” which can be pulled up from the menu or by pushing the red button on the remote. It shows you your progress on the disc and the title of the chapter you’re now in. Additionally, two other buttons on the remote can place or remove bookmarks if you decide to stop viewing before reaching the end of the film or want to mark specific places for later reference.
In Conclusion
2.5/5 (not an average)
Admirers of Michelangelo Antonioni are likely to love what high definition has done to one of the master’s last films Identification of a Woman. Though the bonus feature package is very atypically slim for this Criterion release, the video quality finds the movie looking its best.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
