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The Passenger

Play trailer Poster for The Passenger PG Released Feb 28, 1975 1h 59m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
88% Tomatometer 77 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
David Locke (Jack Nicholson) is a world-weary American journalist who has been sent to cover a conflict in northern Africa, but he makes little progress with the story. When he discovers the body of a stranger who looks similar to him, Locke assumes the dead man's identity. However, he soon finds out that the man was an arms dealer, leading Locke into dangerous situations. Aided by a beautiful woman (Maria Schneider), Locke attempts to avoid both the police and criminals out to get him.
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The Passenger

The Passenger

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Critics Consensus

Antonioni's classic, a tale of lonely, estranged characters on a journey though the mysterious landscapes of identity, shimmers with beauty and uncertainty.

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Critics Reviews

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David Robinson Times (UK) It is one of those very risky pieces of virtuosity which tend inevitably to distract the mind to questions of how it's done; but it's still beautiful. Oct 12, 2023 Full Review Derek Malcolm Guardian It is essentially an internal drama traversing a moral hinterland whose only real location is the soul. And its triumph is that, in externalising this troubled journey, the film so seldom trivialises it. Oct 11, 2023 Full Review Nigel Andrews Financial Times The Passenger is almost a masterpiece. Almost? That's because the plot, a thrillerish tangle about swapped identity in a menacing foreign country, begs for the pen of Patricia Highsmith. Rated: 4/5 Jan 2, 2019 Full Review Russell Davies Observer (UK) Nicholson is cast almost willfully against type -- the idea of existential pain actually appearing on that sharp face seems improbable from the start -- but it works far better than at first I feared. Oct 11, 2023 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand The haunting drama is classic Antonioni, an existential quest for identity in an alienating world, and the cryptic plot and mysterious sense of emptiness plays even better with the remove of time. Oct 5, 2023 Full Review John Simon Esquire Magazine If vacuity had any weight, you could kill an ox by dropping on it Michelangelo Antonioni's latest film, The Passenger. Emptiness is everywhere: in landscapes and townscapes, churches and hotel rooms, and most of all in the script. Aug 4, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (510) audience reviews
Jonathan B Just watched this wonderful film for the first time - 50 years after it was made. Was there a soundtrack? I don't know, I was hooked on the characters, the settings and listening hard for the dialogue. I shall watch it again very soon because I found it a very enjoyable and immersive. I try to find films that are well regarded but about which I know as little as possible. I've read a few comments since viewing the film but haven't seen any reference to a possible relationship between the Maria Schneider character and the gun runners. Wasn't she in London to see whether the JN character turned up at his house? Wasn't she in Barcelona because that was where the dead man was going next? Didn't she 'deliver' JN to the gun runners? Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/22/24 Full Review Blu B A New Hollywood Classic Drama. Despite having hardly any soundtrack at all it never really feels dry which is a testament to the strong direction. It's very arthouse style and cut from the same cloth as something like The Swimmer but it never doesn't make sense if that makes sense. Everything about it is very well done. The camerawork especially the long takes are exceptional at times and the settings are very memorable. The pacing is good but this is a very slow burn the entire way. It keeps your interest by as it goes on it keeps asking more questions in your head and you want to find out the answers as the questions keep piling up. Why did he throw away everything? Will he get caught? What is the endgame? What is in the schedule book? Why is she staying with him? It never directly answers those questions outright as instead giving suggestive ones. Anyone who knows New Hollywood style movies knows what I'm talking about. This is very much against the mundane. Even if your breaking the law, going against societies expectations, don't have a plan, that doesn't mean your a evil person. If anything it means your living. I will say this defintely isn't for everyone though as it requires a lot of patience and investment but if you stay with it, it will reward you. Anyone who is a fan of the director, any actors in this, arthouse type of plots, or New Hollywood style dramas will like this. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 05/16/24 Full Review Quoc T A classic. They don't make films like this one anymore. One of Nicholson's best 5 films! The last 5 minute ending is incredible. This film made me love the art of cinema. When I watched this film I realized the Antonioni was a genius. He was an impressionist who threw all the colors/paint together and out came a masterpiece. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/10/23 Full Review G M Ok, it's an Antonioni film. Ok Jack is great. Ok you can "read" the alienation... but where is the plot? Rated 2 out of 5 stars 12/03/22 Full Review Shioka O This is good. Antonioni again featured emptiness of journalism by using English speaking people. I like the plot and Nicholson's performance in this, his presence in Europe created good chemistry. As this film has less dialog and almost no thrills, it can be boring to see, but the great cinematography saved it all. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/02/22 Full Review isla s This seemed, to me, to be a pretty uneventful film that didn't really appeal to me. I feel bad for saying that, as I'm quite keen to try to follow films with interesting, winding plots but this just didn't grab me or engross me at all. I felt a bit confused as to what exactly was going on ocassionally and a fair number of scenes seemed to have little happening. I know this is a generally well regarded film and I imagine it appeals to some people but I watched it twice, the 2nd time trying to understand it better, to pay more attention but still it left me feeling a bit confused and disinterested. The main character, Locke, is somewhat mysterious in his manner and there are the ocassional pieces of good dialogue but it just felt lacking to me, so I couldn't really get myself to give it any higher than a 3 star rating. Maybe I just didn't 'get' it, I feel others may well enjoy it more than I did but it was distinctly average overall in my eyes. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Passenger

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Movie Info

Synopsis David Locke (Jack Nicholson) is a world-weary American journalist who has been sent to cover a conflict in northern Africa, but he makes little progress with the story. When he discovers the body of a stranger who looks similar to him, Locke assumes the dead man's identity. However, he soon finds out that the man was an arms dealer, leading Locke into dangerous situations. Aided by a beautiful woman (Maria Schneider), Locke attempts to avoid both the police and criminals out to get him.
Director
Michelangelo Antonioni
Producer
Carlo Ponti
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Les Films Concordia, Compagnia Cinematografica Champion
Rating
PG (Some Violence|Nudity|Language)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 28, 1975, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Oct 28, 2005
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$619.7K
Runtime
1h 59m
Sound Mix
Surround
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