Review of Red Desert (1964) by Reece L — 06 Oct 2015

A spiritual sister to Todd Haynes' brilliant Safe, Antonioni's Red Desert is a study of the oppressive nature of industry and the existential doubt it forces upon those unsuited to it, a visual piece utilizing color as a means of contrasting passionate human emotion against toxic numbness. Giuliana fears the overabundance of the artificial, feeling a desperate need for vibrancy in an existence that is defined by sameness; this stifling environment of metallic garbage and nervous discomfort leading her to seek out others in cramped, colorful spaces in order to feel some sort of sexual and emotional sense of being.

That being said, Antonioni doesn't entirely condemn industrial advancements as much as show how it can displace those who are accustomed to the past. Technology may force Giuliana into bouts of existential despair, but her son thrives on its presence. Antonioni finds moments of beauty among the steel beams and at one point equates it with progress, lending a more nuanced assessment of industry that is rendered tactile and entirely accessible in a final breathtaking existential breakdown set on a massive metal ship. As with L'Avventura, Antonioni plumbs the depths of the human psyche and questions the very notion of existence, raising poignant questions about environmental stimuli and generational progress in the process.