Saturday, June 21, 2008

[Michelangelo Antonioni Retrospective] Lo Sguardo Di Michelangelo (The Gaze of Michelangelo) (2004)

This is possibly the final short film of Michelangelo Antonioni, starring as himself as well as he seeks out his the Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo's statue of Moses at the Churce of St Pietro in Rome.

Basically it's a piece which has the camera lingering on extreme close ups of the statue, covering every possible nook, cranny and corner, coupled with a meditative looking Antonioni decked in Armani, caressing the statue with his hand. In all frankness I have no idea what this short was trying to achieve, although it boasts some stunning visuals against absolutely no dialogue and sans music accompaniment, save for the ambient noise of shutting doors, and a church chorus toward the end.

It might get a tad repetitive as well, given that it seemed certain shots got repeated ad nauseam. Perhaps it's to share the brilliance of one of Michelangelo's statues, or to share that the statue might be one of Antonioni's favourites.

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