force majeur...

two giants of the cinema, who pretty much embodied the "art movie", wrapped on the same day last month, both directing films almost until the bitter end!

michelangelo antonioni was the creator of two of the most amazing, confusing and thought-provoking movies I have seen: blow-up and the passenger, the latter also introducing me to the incredible work of antoni gaudi.

i was probably a little young for blow-up because, man, i couldn't get that movie out of my mind. i think it was the first time i'd seen a movie that didn't tie up nice and neatly at the end and i didn't really know how to deal with that! (soon after, though, i saw 2001 and well, that really tripped the master switch...)

while some of ingmar bergman's more famous movies kinda blew right over my head, this one about the rape of a young girl was the first that got through and touched me deeply.

since the arrival of dvd and a big screen in my lounge i have been able to see, enjoy and stand in awe of a lot more of his work. intense and deeply personal, yet totally universal: awesome stuff that hits my psycho-emotional buttons better than any filmmaker other than andrei tarkovsky.

like all great masters their work offers no easy entry, but delivers huge rewards...

mre
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