R.I.P. Antonioni

„I feel like a father towards my old films. You bring children into the world, then they grow up and go off on their own. From time to time you get together, and it's always a pleasure to see them again.”

(Antonioni, 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007)


Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni died peacefully yesterday evening in his home, surrounded with family members. He was 94 years old. Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni announced a public viewing of Antonioni's body tomorrow at City Hall.

I can hardly believe it... because lately I spoke a lot about him and Bergman and here they are, dancing together away. Both died on a same day. It is a bit hard for me to say anything at this moment. I am truly overwhelmed with emotions. This is just too much at once…

I remember seeing Antonioni’s movie called Blowup, made in 1966. I saw the mentioned movie much later, because I wasn’t even born when the movie was released. I can tell you one thing. The title was perfect because I was definitely blown up and I knew I had to see all of his movies right away! I remember staring in the screen long after the movie ended, and the more I thought about the movie, the more I find it to be absolutely unique and brilliant. You got me, Antonioni! You got me forever. The audience was silent. The first comment I heard was: “Did I miss something?” This will never change in the following years. Antonioni’s movies will always have that kind of impact on the audience as he was no ordinary storyteller and his subjects were simply different. Antonioni made great use of insinuation. He tantalized us with the possibility of what could have been. He believed that reality is unattainable as it is submerged by layers of images which are only versions/perceptions of reality. He said on one occasion: “Reality changes so rapidly that if one theme is not dealt with, another presents itself. Allowing one's attention to be attracted by each little thing has become a vice of the imagination. All one has to do is to keep one's eyes open: everything becomes full of meaning; everything cries out to be interpreted, reproduced. Thus, there is no one particular film that I would like to make; there is one for every single theme I perceive. And I am excited by these themes, day and night. However, opportunity and other practical considerations limit and direct the choice.”

I’m off to watch Al di la delle nuvole :)

R.I.P. Bergman

"Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls."

(Bergman, 14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007)


Ingmar Bergman, the Swedish film director and one of the greatest masters of cinematography died in his home on the Baltic islet of Faro today. He was 89 years old.

Bergman’s grandmother introduced him to the cinema and went with him to several shows when he was a little boy, always in secrecy, since he wasn't allowed to go to the movies by his strict father who was a Lutheran pastor. On one occasion, Bergman said: "I hope I never get old so I get religious."

I have no wish to actually speak about his life and ghosts that tormented his soul from early childhood. You can read about his biography here. I would rather say that these ghosts have made a great impact on his cinematography, filling his movies with the questions and motives of mortality, sexual desire, loneliness and faith. Even he said that he was depressed by his own films and could not watch them anymore.

During his long career, Bergman remained devoted to the cinema and to the mysteries of the human spirit and soul. His early work was dark and brooding, his middle films intense and virtuous, and his last films intimate and self-revealing. He never lost his passion for drama and never got tired of his primary subject that was deeply human with all its faces, masks and aspects.


Bergman's family has not set a date for his funeral yet, but they have confirmed it will be attended by a close group of friends and family. I can not express my sadness due to this great loss… Bergman was one of my all time favorite directors, together with the long gone Andrei Tarkovsky and Federico Fellini. They won’t be forgotten.