Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Michelangelo Antonioni: Il Grido (Take II)



















And now it's time to delve into the title of Antonioni's absorbing film Il grido (1957).

The raw English translation ("The Cry") doesn't do it justice, doesn't convey the necessary gravitas. Nowadays in English, a "cry" sounds almost feeble, or baby-like. Something more like jeremiad or lamentation is suggested.

Most readers will have seen some kind of representation or reproduction of Edvard Munch's 1893 painting called in English The Scream and in Norwegian Skrik (and in German, as part of a set, Der Schrei der Natur), yes? 

Check out the Italian variations for Skrik: L'urlo o Il grido. Now we're getting somewhere that's not lost in the translation. Consider Il Grido more like The Scream than The Cry. Despair in the face of change and instability. Aldo, the main protagonist (played convincingly by Steve Cochran, an American), despairs to such a degree that one can easily imagine his inner psyche reflected by the Munch painting.

Today's Rune: Signals.     

1 comment:

Charles Gramlich said...

I do certainly like that painting. It looks like the guy is riding cross country on top of the car in the still here.