Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

L'Avventura

Play trailer Poster for L'Avventura 1961 2h 25m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
94% Tomatometer 52 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
In Michelangelo Antonioni's classic of Italian cinema, two lovely young women, Claudia (Monica Vitti) and Anna (Léa Massari), join the latter's lover, Sandro (Gabriele Ferzetti), on a boat trip to a remote volcanic island. When Anna goes missing, an extensive search is launched. In the meantime, Sandro and Claudia become involved in a romance despite Anna's disappearance, though the relationship suffers from the guilt and tension brought about by the looming mystery.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

L'Avventura

L'Avventura

What to Know

Critics Consensus

L'Avventura marks a bewitchingly ambiguous milestone in Antonioni's career -- and European cinema in general.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
Stewart Allen Arizona Republic 09/02/2020
Compared to movies, period, L'Avventura is good. But "good" for Antonioni is too flat and monotonous a praise, much like this picture. Go to Full Review
Richard Brody The New Yorker 04/05/2017
Rightly considered to be a cinematic landmark. Go to Full Review
David Stratton At the Movies (Australia) 04/05/2017
Antonioni's cool, beautifully photographed film isn't really a mystery and certainly not a thriller. Audiences over the years have delighted in deciding what it really is all about. Go to Full Review
Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies 08/22/2022
4.5/5
“Lavventura” doesn’t seek a conventional framework. It asks the audience the observe, think, and process. It is that type of engagement that makes Antonioni’s film a true classic. Go to Full Review
Dilys Powell Sunday Times (UK) 08/10/2022
L'Avventura is a film all of one piece: landscape and architecture, the sound of the sea and the eloquent asides of Giovanni Fusco's score. Go to Full Review
Dennis Harvey 48 Hills 05/23/2022
L’avventura fascinated and infuriated audiences with its deliberately cryptic tale... Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Alain E @AlainE Aug 20 Although considered a masterpiece, I think we can say today that Antonioni constructed later in his career, more solid films, namely The Passenger with Nicholson. Here, definitely Monica Vitti gives a very strong performance. The story however, is a series of self created small tragedies of the privileged classes in the post WW II Italy. We follow several characters for several months. We are told that they work, but we don’t witness a single day in an office or a factory. In the opening sequence several couples and friends go on a boat trip. One of the girls feeling trapped in her relationship, decides to disappear. Her friends spend several days trying to find her but eventually give up. Monica Vitti plays her best friend. After first refusing, eventually starts a passionate relationship with the man who was the boyfriend of the lost girl. Close to the end, without any explanation this man cheats on her with a prostitute. Eventually it appears that she forgives him. No explanation is offered for any of these actions. The film is beautifully restored. I thought I recognized two scenes that Antonioni later recycled in the Passenger: the convertible car in the empty village around the 90 minute mark and next the hotel in the next town which is quite similar with Jack Nicholson’s character final destination. See more Will G Jul 14 A great French and Italian film. The acting was superb. It was nice to see Europe. There was some drama and romance. I enjoyed the scenes with boats and helicopters. The plot was interesting. See more Camero W 11/06/2024 True cinema. The shots, the plot, the score, and the boldness. See more Luca D @JoeCamel7 08/08/2023 One thing I disliked about this film was the runtime. I felt a lot of scenes dragged on with no dialogue or meaning. Just more and more shots of the surrounding scenery. Though it gets cookie points for being beautifully shot (+ Sicily is gorgeous). The acting is great. The plot is romantic but at the same time the ending doesn't really make sense. I read the ending as the film as showing how quickly feelings change and how we have to be easier on peoples emotional changes, as long as it's clear they did not intend to hurt you. I would recommend to most but please remember it's a very long film, romantic but not something to watch with a pestering girlfriend. See more Alexsander F 07/04/2023 Um filme interessante mas sem seguir uma linha linear, bem comum nos filmes italianos dessa época. See more CodyZamboni Z 05/05/2023 Movie is kind of overrated, But I can see what the filmmaker was driving at, Monica Vitti is the whole show, See more Read all reviews
L'Avventura

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Movie Info

Synopsis In Michelangelo Antonioni's classic of Italian cinema, two lovely young women, Claudia (Monica Vitti) and Anna (Léa Massari), join the latter's lover, Sandro (Gabriele Ferzetti), on a boat trip to a remote volcanic island. When Anna goes missing, an extensive search is launched. In the meantime, Sandro and Claudia become involved in a romance despite Anna's disappearance, though the relationship suffers from the guilt and tension brought about by the looming mystery.
Director
Michelangelo Antonioni
Producer
Cino Del Duca, Raymond Hakim, Robert Hakim, Amato Pennasilico, Luciano Perugia
Screenwriter
Michelangelo Antonioni, Elio Bartolini, Tonino Guerra
Distributor
Criterion Collection, Janus Films
Production Co
Societé Cinématographique Lyre
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Italian
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 4, 1961, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 21, 2009
Runtime
2h 25m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
Most Popular at Home Now