Review of Blow-Up (1966) by Patrick B — 02 Jul 2010

At first, I wondered what had happened to Antonioni between the wonderful "L'Avventura" and this, his first English language film. At first, Blow-Up deceives you - it tells you that it's just another 60's youth flick, throwing away the virtues of the past and welcoming the swinging sexual revolution.

I'm sure the whole film fooled many swingers then (and probably still does today). But look closely enough - really sit and think about the images, and try to see beyond the shallowness of what's immediately in focus (hell, just follow the photographer's process) - and then you'll begin to see a critique (even a damnation) of modern values and conventions that hits nearly as hard as good ol' L'Avventura.