This film is part of our winter series, running at De Uitkijk throughout December and January. This year, our winter series focuses on loneliness, but don’t worry, you can still enjoy warmth and good company at De Uitkijk…!
“I’d like all the people who ever loved me here, around me, like a wall.”
Michelangelo Antonioni’s colourful masterpiece follows Giuliana (Monica Vitti), who is recovering from an accident and must relearn how to fit into her industrial surroundings. Haunted by a slow-building breakdown, she spends her days in her husband’s factory and in their desolate home. Even the lives of the people in the Italian town seem to resemble the “life” inside the factories: cold, structured, and hierarchical. Giuliana makes an uneasy attempt to function within this world, but her accident—along with the arrival of a charming engineer—offers her a new perspective…
Il Deserto Rosso is often interpreted as a critique of the consequences of the Industrial Revolution. Humanity, it is said, can no longer recognise itself in such machines and becomes increasingly detached from the world. Ironically, Antonioni intended Il Deserto Rosso to capture “the beauty of the industrial landscape.” The yellow chemical smoke, the deafening steam engines, and Giuliana’s bright green coat create striking, almost living compositions. Antonioni’s machines are an extension of human creative power, driven by the enduring impulse to reshape the world in our own image.