Blow Up (1966)

A popular photographer (David Hemmings) in the swinging London scene of the 1960s takes some photos in a park in the early morning hours. A young woman (Vanessa Redgrave) seen in the distance in these photos furiously objects to being photographed without her permission. She tracks him down to his studio and attempts to negotiate the return of the film and negatives. Loosely based on the short story LAS BABAS DEL DIABLO by Julio Cortazar and directed by Michelangelo Antonioni (L'AVVENTURA). Winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival, this was Antonioni's first film in the English language. A critical darling and art house sensation in 1966, it was an influential film (its progeny include Coppola's THE CONVERSATION and DePalma's BLOW OUT) and many consider it a masterpiece. I disliked it intensely when I first saw in its original release but in the ensuing years, I've warmed up to it more but it's still not one of my favorite Antonioni films. Like L'AVVENTURA where the mystery of a girl's disappearance is never solved, the facts of a probable murder (if it did in fact take place) are never resolved. Here, Antonioni is playing with illusion vs. reality and Hemmings' protagonist ability to straddle the fine line between both. The film is open to numerous interpretations. With Sarah Miles, Jane Birkin, John Castle, Peter Bowles and Tsai Chin.