Blow-Up (1966)

Young fashion photographer Thomas (David Hemmings) may have inadvertently photographed a murder.

*      *      *

By the middle of the 1960s it was undeniable that the baby-boomers were on the rise and the World War II generation was on the decline. While many in the older generation responded to this phenomenon with fear and aggression, others found it fascinating. Having already completed a trilogy of films (L'avventura, La Notte and L'eclisse) in  effort to understand his own generation's ennui, 54 year-old Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni decided it was now time to see what gave the younger generation angst. The resultant film is a beautiful synthesis of plot and theme. The character of Thomas has a hole inside himself which he desperately wants to fill. He tries with women, he tries with antiques, he tries with smashed guitars. At first-blush, each of these seems to be the answer to his prayers. Yet on closer inspection, they're just diversions. The hole is still there. The hole will always be there. Happiness can only be found by sticking close to the surface. If you choose to go deeper and keep blowing-up the photo of life, it will all eventually become just meaningless noise and emptiness. If you want to play the game, you have to buy in and live the lie.