Sunday 28th January 5:00 PM
The Passenger
Details
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni Country: ItalyCert: 15 Year: 1975 Length: 121 mins
Synopsis
Since leading man Jack Nicholson acquired the rights to The Passenger in the mid-1980s, screenings of Antonioni's 1975 identity-swap oddity have become increasingly rare. Now, reissued in a new print, we have a chance to enjoy this tale of a world-weary television reporter in Africa who is profoundly depressed by his failing marriage and by a drab professional career. While researching a documentary in the Sahara Desert he meets a gunrunner who dies suddenly. Noticing that they have a similar appearance, he assumes the recently deceased's identity and accepts the consequences that it brings, showcasing one of Jack Nicholson's finest ever screen performances.
Critics
A classic...that really does shimmer in the mind like a remembered dream.
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
Antonioni draws on certain thriller conventions: car chases, assassinations, female romantic interest... and Tovoli's magnificent cinematography of the African desert and the arid Spanish countryside.
BBCi