MovieChat Forums > La notte (1962) Discussion > Semantic love triangle.

Semantic love triangle.

posted 17 years ago by ProxiDelight
2 replies | jump to latest

I thought that lidia's confession at the end that about Tommaso's care for her was very powerful. In several parts of the film Giovanni reveals a conflict with loving someone who is very intelligent and knowledgeable, yet mundane (obviously he was speaking of Lidia).

Both men loved her for her intellect, yet neither loved her carnally for her physical prowess. She shows obvious signs of frustration in this. Especially when she read aloud Giovanni's note from the past. She realizes here that at one point he did love her brain AND body. Does he come to this realization thus prompting the first on screen kiss between the two?

The above paragraph also relates to Giovanni's final confrontation with Valentina... she embodies intellect and yet is not banal like Jeanne.

[–] LeofricsBeloved 17 years ago

I agree with just about all your points.

Marcello's character IS the banal one IMO - he's fickle and doesn't even remember he wrote his wife that incredible love letter. He's impressed by money and insisted on "respecting" the wealthy guests at the party, while the "revolutionary" type intellectual ravaged against cold capitalism. Giovanni is getting bored of his wife and is moving on to Valentina. Valentina is a younger version of Lidia; Valentina, like the former Lidia, is also much smarter/intellectual than she admits to herself and is also a rich girl. Giovanni senses this and wants to revive his love life with another woman who is very much like his wife, a pattern of his. He wants to "help" her use her intellect, the way he, Tommaso, and Lidia got together in the first place.

Lidia is the one with the most depth out of all the characters, with true existential malaise. I just feel like Giovanni is a wannabe, a pretentious writer who gets bored easily and finds amusement with new, keyword new, women. Lidia recognizes the futility of it all, of love having ended. Giovanni wants to keep living the lie.

[–] Rainer90 10 years ago

I agree with your point, VarysGash. Lidia is definitely the most existential character. You can really feel her quiet despair as you see her wandering about throughout the film, searching for something. Yet only finding emptiness, decay, and the void.