University of Virginia Library

Film Review

Antonioni's 'Zabriskie Point'

By Carl Erickson
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

This past week in Charlottesville
has afforded film watchers the
unusual opportunity of viewing the
works of four of the most brilliant
masters of today's cinema: Luchino
Visconti, Jean-Luc Godard, Francois
Truffaut, and now, Michelangelo
Antonioni. Each possesses his
own distinctly personalized style
and the subjects treated are, for the
most part, unrelated. If Visconti's
film was the most spectacular,
Godard's the most disturbing, and
Truffaut's the most enjoyable, then
Antonioni's "Zabriskie Point" has
to be the most surprising, and I am
not speaking merely of the discrepancy
between what you have
heard and what you will see. The

biggest surprise comes from Antonioni
himself.

The film deals with a young
man, played by Mark Frechette,
who, after briefly delving into the
world of student radicals, steals a
private plane and flies over Death
Valley. Here he meets a young
secretary, portrayed by Daria Halprin,
and the two talk, smoke dope,
and make love until they part, he to
return the plane, she to meet her
boss. Mr. Frechette and Miss
Halprin are both newcomers to the
screen and their acting is laughably
inept. It is not that they have no
feeling for their parts, although this
may be the case. The fact is that
neither of the two has any idea of
how to act. Although their poor
performance is understandable,
Antonioni's selection of the two
was an inexcusable and regrettable
mistake which he has had to
compensate for quite often. Happily,
the problem is not insoluble
for a director who frequently
disregards his actors through his
enchantment with such environmental
objects as buildings, signs,
mountains, and even salami
sandwiches.

As far as environment goes,
Antonioni surprises no one in
"Zabriskie Point." His preoccupation
with mammoth billboards and
signs is as fascinating as it is
humorous. His deliberate shooting
of contemporary architecture dates
back as far as "La Notte" and "The
Red Desert," and in "Zabriskie
Point" such shots serve to model
Rod Taylor as the final answer to
the question, "Who is John Galt?"
His interest in colors has not faded
either. He still paints gas pumps and
garbage pails as he did in "Blow-Up,"
and cars still fill the screen
with bright colors. Naturally, his
Marxist interest in alienation pervades
the images and the soundtrack.

The pleasant surprise in "Zabriskie
Point" is the revelation of a
heretofore indistinguishable tender
side to Antonioni's character. Contrary
to what other critics have
said, Antonioni appears to have
taken a liking to our country. His
shot of the wizened old prizefighter
was, for me, an unforgettable
experience. Likewise, the shot of
the taciturn farmer sitting at the
bar. Yes, he mocks us, but, for the
most part, it is a good-natured joke,
i.e. the billboards and the Bermuda
short clad tourists.

At times he is unfair as a result
of simplistic misconceptions, i.e.
the scene in the gun shop. However,
he saves most of his anger for the
police (Hitchcock has also admitted
to distrusting policemen and it is
probably the case that most artists
share this wariness) and for the
capitalist; not the capitalist bar or
delicatessen owners, but the large
corporation moguls who buy and
sell with calculating disregard for
the people involved.

Antonioni also mocks the young
and their naivete, but here again his
cynicism is not malicious; nor is he
without hope for American youths.
He acknowledges the amount of
obstacles placed in the way of
youthful hopes and he despairs, as
well as we do, when Mark cannot
land that gaudy plane. Here, unfortunately,
his sympathies are nearly
betrayed by the hapless performances
of Mark and Daria. It is
difficult to be concerned about
such uninteresting people. Fortunately,
we are allowed to feel the
frustration of Daria through Antonioni's
apocalyptic senses.

A new side of Antonioni has
emerged in "Zabriskie Point." An
honest and sympathetic commentary
has been provided as well. The
two factors together make "Zabriskie
Point" the most worthwhile
filmic event to be seen in
Charlottesville this week. Go see it.

(Now at the Paramount)