女朋友1955

安东尼奥尼早期的电影。带着古典好莱坞剧的一些特性，比如三角恋爱、分明的人物角色、台词聒噪，但也还是可以看到导演自身的特色，例如他对于现代人内外处境的关注，即空虚和孤独。罗塞塔和克莱里亚分别意味着乡村与都市，电影以罗塞塔的试图自杀和克莱里亚的到来开始，最后以罗塞塔的自杀和克莱里亚的离开结束，行成“花开两朵各表一枝”却又回归原点的环形叙事。

这其中，罗塞塔的自杀是一大关键，无所凭依却又试图摆脱父母亲的罗塞塔只能将可能的出路寄托于三流画家洛佐洛身上，她将爱情作为救命稻草，但当洛佐洛说出“我不再需要”的真相时，罗塞塔的世界就坍塌了，自杀不过是她的绝望。因而导演用了极其节制的镜头来呈现罗塞塔的结局，大俯拍，一块白布，一个担架，一件遗落的外套。

相反的，克莱里亚意味着不一样的角色，她从罗马来，在她融入都灵的女性们生活群体中，她感受到的是浮华与面具。作为新女性的她试图挽留罗塞塔，但也以失败告终，但她是唯一会流泪之人。但这也不意味着克莱里亚能摆脱现代病，她爱上了建筑师助理，种种隔阂让两人欲近还退，在爱情与事业之间，她理性地选择了后者，虽是自由选择，但仍让人唏嘘不已。

还有一位有意思的都灵女性，尼娜，这一位颇有才华的女性，也难免陷于与洛佐洛的爱情泥淖。尼娜对洛佐洛的情感是有母性意味的，对于那位失败且小心眼的画家，竟为此放弃美国的展出机会。或许，在洛佐洛身上，尼娜感受到了某种被需要。虽然洛佐洛某种程度上是将对尼娜的情感征服作为艺术反叛的方式。

安东尼奥尼以闹剧的方式来呈现悲剧，如此耐心地来探讨女性的出路，不失为一种可贵。

Antonioni’s fourth feature, LE AMICHE (“The Girlfriends”) corrals five well-to-do young women in Turin, in the center is Clelia (Rossi Drago), who returns from Rome to her hometown to open a fashion salon branch, strikes up friendship with Momina (Furneaux), a divorced socialite, albeit they first meet under the misfortunate occurrence of a suicide attempt fro Momina’s friend Rosetta (Fischer), anyway, the latter survives, and it turns out, she is infatuated with a painter named Lorenzo (Ferzetti), whose companion is their common friend Nene (Cortese), a talented sculptress, also in the fold is the flirtatious Mariella (Pancani).

Rosetta’s defeatist dysphoria does not bid well for her declaration of love to Lorenzo, but it is Nene’s philosophical consideration is more empathetic and precious for a woman doesn’t luxuriate in spite or vengeance for losing her man to her friend, only that judicious impression is smashed to smithereens in the next chapter, when Lorenzo, in the wake of a tragedy he should at least partially answer for, begs for forgiveness, Nene relents and takes this feckless man back, even if it means she has to sacrifice her budding career to allay a man’s bruised ego, a backward-looking woman who prioritizes her man over everything else, surely will do that, and be capable of sweeping his demerits under the rug, but through Cortese’s pathos-driven affection and resignation, Nene comes off more than that, she is a composite of contradictions, that is quite a defining character to pin down, in both men and women alike. Ferzetti’s Lorenzo, on the other hand, is a ball of frustration, anxiety and ill temper, it is not at all palatable to see him get away with his self-involved narcissism.

Momina is completely a different kettle of fish, who does not decline frolics from Cesare (Fabrizi), an acquaintance she befriends through Clelia, yet, if her ex-husband beckons, she is smart enough not to be tied up to one tree only, and her cynical attitude also rubs off on a susceptible Rosetta, Antonioni doesn’t shy away from the discordance among female friends, only, it is always man-oriented, that certainly betrays and is pertinent to the story’s ‘50s temporality, but a bit of foresight might leaven the magic here.

As for a fancy-free Clelia, fetchingly played by a self-possessed Drago reminiscent of Ingrid Bergman’s high-toned elegance, inexorably she falls under the spell of a handsome Carlo (Manni), whose working-class backdrop differs from hers, and tentatively, she tries to sort out her feelings and propose a future with him, but being a career woman who tries not to be defined by marriage, or the man she marries, she thinks better of it when a new occupational perspective opens up, Antonioni might not above to break the class barrier, but highlighting Clelia as the opposite of both Rosetta and Nene in terms of their attitude towards the stronger sex, shows that the progress has taken its pace.

While the interpersonal drama and narrative-heavy structure is not Antonioni’s forte, his keen sense of fashion, natural landscape (a beach side outing shows up the cracks of their little clique) and patient observation and compositional fluidity of his camerawork can all be espied in this neorealism lodestone that luminously throws light on the changing mores of womanhood.

referential entries: Antonioni’s STORY OF A LOVE AFFAIR (1950, 6.0/10), IL GRIDO (1957, 7.2/10); Federico Fellini’s THE WHITE SHEIK (1952, 7.5/10).