Analyzing Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow Up Essay Example

aspect of the film. Following a narrative pattern of cause and effect, the audience receive enjoyment in the plot’s completion. Such Hollywood films are enjoyed by many for the brief escape from reality provided by a completed narrative. Opposite to this is the orientation of characters in art film.

Characters within art films tend to wander towards a final destination, varying from the straightforward mentality and behavior of their classical counterparts.This lack of definitive desire and goals is an attempt at creating realism. In objection to the typical Hollywood protagonist, leading characters, such as David Hemmings in Blow Up, can seem confused about their purpose and even their own existence. Within the walls of a London nightclub a band performs to a crowd of emotionless people. Antonioni goes to great lengths, through the use of a wide variety of camera angles, in order to convey to the audience the emotionlessness of the patrons and the eerie atmosphere of the establishment.

During this scene, one of the band members, Jeff Beck, attacks his malfunctioning amplifier swiftly followed by the destruction of his guitar. At the sign of guitar fragments being thrown into the audience, the room erupted with desire and determination for the objects. Seemingly in the middle of the chaos, Thomas joins the battle for the broken guitar, eventually leaving the club victorious, only to find himself uninterested in his prize. This sequence of unexplained events is characteristic of an art film because they do not initially, if ever, make sense to the audience for a number of reasons.

The scene requires the viewer to interpret the events and relate them to the plot as the film

continues. One interpretation of this scene claims that the rigid audience signifies the later reinforced notion of society as collectively removed. This absent behavior and conformity can be related to society’s ignorance toward Hemmings’ possible murder discovery. Further, the uniform reaction to the thrown guitar handle can represent the conformity and false reality that exists within society, pertinent in 1966 and 2009.Although Antonioni employs several wide and longer shots to capture the full density of the crowd, Hemming’s visibility to the audience is limited. However, because Thomas is constantly in motion behind a backdrop of inanimate people, a noticeable difference is apparent between him and those representing ‘society.

’ In the following scene Hemmings visits the home of his publisher during a drug and sex ridden party. During this scene there are several elements conforming to the criteria of an art film.First, the reappearance of Hemmings’ ‘wife’ and her claim that she is in Paris is surprising and confusing. This interaction adds a sense of confusion and detracts from and already limited amount of information and understanding available to the viewer.

The plot-line between Hemmings and his model ‘wife’ is made clear to be of no use to function of the film, only as an event leading to nothing. It is also in this party that the protagonist confronts his publisher about his discovery. His disregard for the subject matter can be interpreted as society’s care free ideology and false reality.This is made explicitly evident when Ron tells Thomas that he is not a photographer, implying he does not care about his quest. Ron, by choosing to ignore the facts presented before him, is making

himself ignorant in an attempt to carry on a life of uninterrupted pleasure.

This removal from reality is one of the fundamental issues recurrent in this film. Hemmings is faced with a choice between what is moral and what is comfortable. The moral choice is more difficult and requires him to sacrifice precious time and effort in order to do what is right.The alternative is to ignore that such a dilemma exists and simply choose not to act.

The latter option was chosen by Thomas in the short term through his decision to remain at the party and awake the next morning seemingly exhausted. As a result all his evidence, the blow ups and body were taken and vanished. This is characteristic of an art film because in contrast a ‘Hollywood’ protagonist faced with such a dilemma would always choose the morally correct, selfless and ‘perfect’ choice, at the cost of realism.This differs from art cinemas tendency towards creating realism through the portrayal of human weakness, even in the main character, and how easily one can be overcome by the temptation of ignorance and bliss.

In the final scene of the film we are shown once again the group of student-mimes. However, on this occasion they are no longer driving in the city, but in the country. There are several different camera distances used in this sequence, specifically extreme long and long shots, which primarily capture the magnificent beauty of the English countryside.Such focus on landscape and background is a common component of art cinema. This is especially true in the final frames of the film as they depict the protagonist venture through a seemingly

endless grass field, eventually fading out of sight and out of reality.

The constant visuals of Hemmings’ character as a minor component against various backdrops defines the film clearly distinct from classic narrative style. This film is a perfect example of the power of the director in his ability to control what we see and therefore what we know and what we think.Such power over the manipulation of information is typical of an art film director like Antonioni. Films of this nature differ from classical narratives because they cater to the plot as Hollywood features carry a story. The natural pattern of a story is based on cause and effect.

The plot of an art film however is not bound by cause and effect, rather events that contribute to the views understanding of the plot, regardless of form. We see this during the final scene of the film as our main character vanishes from the screen, just as the body had vanished before.Such an event is riddled with ambiguity, beckoning the viewer to ponder the reason for his disappearance. It is possible that he may have never existed, meaning the murder must not have existed either. Alternately, similar to the mimes playing tennis, Ron’s bashful party, and the Yard-Birds’ lethargic audience, Hemmings may have chosen to give up his cause and decided to ‘play along,’ succumbing to conformity and a false reality. In the film Blow Up, we are witness to many narrative elements and themes.

Characteristic of an art film, many of said narrative plots are never completed and remain unanswered.Often the audience is left with less information due to the termination of a

narrative feature, in the final scene of the movie for example. In this scene we are led to believe that the photographer is questioning the existence of the murder and its resonance with the carefree society of the sixties. Amidst this plot turning moment Hemmings vanishes from the screen, beckoning greater thought on the topic of existence and our perception of reality. This also removes the greatest driving force of the narrative, leaving us with less information and slightly confused, reinforcing this story’s distinction from a classic narrative.

Ambiguity is a crucial variance between art and classical films. Art films, when presenting enigmas, attempt to leave room for ambiguity and interpretation. This requires the viewer to become involved and attempt to divulge the meaning. The opposite of this is a classical narrative film that provides the audience with a well constructed escape from reality rather than thought provoking mystery that requires effort in thought. One of the true signs of an art film is the resonance left with the audience even after its run time.A successful art film must be able to provoke the thoughts of the audience and cause them to take their thoughts and experiences outside of the theatre and into reality.

The essence of an art film is this achievement of realism while proving, not merely engaging, the minds of the audience. Through the examination of these three scenes many different properties have been noted to clearly resemble and fit within the parameters of an art film. The events and portrayal of ideas in the film Blow Up encompass the modern ideology of art cinema and as a result has become recognized as

a reference for analyzing and identifying art films.