Neorealism Moving from failure to failure, from error to error, thinking that somewhere you can find a better place, not staying in one place for a long time - you will not find happiness, and even more, you will lose, the only thing you have.
As if guided by this rule, so does the main character of the film Aldo (played by American actor Steve Cochran), which ultimately leads to a cry of despair of Irma, a cry of horror from the realization of the hopeless separation of people, leading to such a sad end.
The director personifies the inner world of the hero with the surrounding world (nature, industrial motives). The landscape in the narrative does not please the heroes at all - emasculated species of trees without foliage, empty farmland, eternal fog, dull views of industrial facilities. This image of the surrounding is a reflection of the inner confusion of feelings and further emptiness of Aldo. Sadly enough, rare glimpses of sunlight are combined with a ray of hope in the life of the hero (for example, sunny days at the beginning of his stay at the gas station), but that from such hope, the essence of life does not change, but prepares for more severe blows of fate, where there is no future for him, and where endless grayness. Events unfold on the change of autumn to winter, you can not escape from this, you can hide - such a change is the same for everyone, for the whole society as a whole.
This black and white neorealist film by Michelangelo Antonioni combines elements of drama, tragedy and road movie. The theme of the road runs through almost all scenes of the film.
The main character is not a man with a capital letter, but an ordinary average Italian of the mid-50s of the last century, a hard worker. It may seem that his uncertainty in life from his own “sloppiness”, but no, Aldo is far from sloppy, does not suffer from alcoholism, he is hardworking, and does everything he can, but according to his own mind, to save the family (to keep his wife Irma and little daughter Rosina). It is depicted in the context of Italian society, a separate predominant stratum of workers and poor people. They have already forgotten the time of the horror of the war (more than 10 years have passed since its completion), relative stability in the economy has come, life has become better, more satisfying, everyone saves his penny. Egocentric motives filled society, and people no longer understand each other, and Aldo is a clear proof of this. Looks like a wall, and inside the alienation of the surrounding world. As winter comes to replace autumn, so the era of individualism (with elements of egocentrism) comes to replace the era of relative collectivism, which causes sincere misunderstanding, internal conflict in the hero himself, conflict with everyone who comes across him in the way. Not happy, oh, not happy for him! Here everyone survives as best he can: someone does not care about his neighbor, but rather parasites on the shortcomings, difficulties of his neighbor (such as the owner of a gas station Virginia or Irma’s sister), someone adapts to someone else’s interests (workers from the river who want to go to work with Venezuela, a prostitute Andreina), someone finds a warmer place (Irma), and someone just “breaks” and goes into oblivion.
Arrogantly rushing from the place where the story begins, because of unrequited love in search of a better life, he rebels against this society, he is ashamed to live in the same town with Irma who abandoned him. He is disgraced in front of the residents, although, in fact, they do not care about him, well, they will talk and forget, they have their own problems.
Aldo may seem self-centered, but the further he moves down the road and the more people he meets, the more he pulls him back home and closer to Irma. In my opinion, he has a weak ego, of which nothing remains, and would not leave, and would not wander, if at least a little respect and value themselves. An example of his showdown with Irma at the beginning of the film. Well, is this self-respect?! - if I am wrong, let me be corrected, it is rather self-humiliation - to beat a beloved woman, even if not very decent, and even in public. And his embittered mother is good with her advice, like for a tough guy - "If he hits, he loves." By such methods he humiliates himself, his human dignity.
Further and further, both physical wanderings and spiritual torments lead him to the realization that Rosina’s daughter is a burden to him on this endless journey, on the one hand she is deprived of a normal childhood, and on the other – he cannot arrange himself, since one must constantly look after her. No, he hasn't lost his father's feelings for her, but he can't go on like this for long. And, bravo Steve Cochran, he portrays this situation of detachment even from his daughter, filigree exactly - I, as a viewer, became uneasy from this.
To judge or justify the main character is not for me to judge, but the idea of the film in Antonioni - a person is alone in this world, and he will be even more lonely if he acts as the main character Aldo in a reliably accurate performance of Steve Cochran.
9 out of 10