The night

‘A day in the life of the married couple Giovanni (Marcello Mastroianni) and Lidia (Jeanne Moreau). Between a visit to a terminally ill friend (Bernhard Wicki) in hospital – who dies during the course of the film – and a party hosted by a major industrialist in Milan, 24 hours unfold in which a relationship gradually unravels. An encounter with Valentina (Monica Vitti), the industrialist’s daughter, exacerbates the rift – whilst Giovanni feels irresistibly drawn to her, Lidia sees it as the loss of her love. Without any dramatic effect, but with razor-sharp, clear black-and-white shots, Antonioni creates a geometry of loneliness.” (Arsenal, March 2016)

‘In La notte, jazz music almost attains the status of a character and becomes a kind of chorus that complements the action: no longer merely a melodic commentary or trivial counterpoint to the images, but an acoustic space in which the characters lose themselves in their self-destructive urges (…). The credit goes to [jazz composer and pianist, editor’s note] Giorgio Gaslini and his quartet, whom Antonioni had invited to play live on set, (..) so that the characters would hear the same music that the audience would hear. He gave the musicians free rein to improvise and immersed the actors and crew in an atmosphere of musical sounds that lend psychological undertones to the action and impart a syncopated, alienating rhythm to the images—which are rich in long takes—creating a powerful dramatic effect.” (Fabio Melelli, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, 2024)