MovieChat Forums > La notte (1962) Discussion > Fell in love with Monica Vitti...any oth...

Fell in love with Monica Vitti...any other contenders?

posted 14 years ago by OakWriter
4 replies | jump to latest

Wow. Sometimes it's so obvious in a film that the director loved his lead actress and went to great lengths to make love to her with the camera. Vitti is so enchanting in these films, and I think in La Notte she is the most desirable. I'm not talking cheap sex appeal here, I'm talking beautifully layered, confident and intelligent radiance combined with a whole lot of female swagger.

The energy of her character in this film is basically the model for what I look for in a woman, no matter her ethnicity or culture.

Anyone else?

Some recent contenders I can think of are Penelope Cruz in "Elegy", Marion Cotillard in "A Good Year" and Vera Farmiga in "Up in the Air"...and let's not forget Rosie Perez in "White Men Can't Jump".

[–] oparthenon 10 years ago

Vitti was, it seems, Antonioni's muse for the short time that he made the trilogy. I know of nothing else like it in cinema except perhaps for von stroheim and dietrich, or hitchcock's need for a female blonde as his lead (to represent vulnerability which redeems itself in the end to become strength.)

[–] prplayer 8 years ago

Godard and Karina come to mind

so many movies, so little time

[–] jingster6666 8 years ago

Monica Vitti
Gina Lollobrigida

[–] kenny-164 8 years ago

Monica Vitti perhaps best fits the description the OP sets up. In addition to the comments she has an effortless style about her, not just her hair and clothes here but the way she puts it all together with movement. She is always perfection in that regard, which is kind of amusing since she can be quite funny in other of her film work, and has a bit (I said a bit) of a goofy smile, which in her case is endearing.

Others I might consider for their interaction with the director must include some of the actresses who have worked with Ingmar Bergman. In particular Liv Ullmann, but perhaps even more so Bibi Andersson. Also Ingrid Thulin and Harriet Andersson.

I would also add some efforts Truffaut put out, especially with Catherine Deneuve.