I think this should have been called ENNUI. It could not even be called ambivalence, because the main character is Moreau, who frequently states that she is ready to die.
At best, this is somewhat a treatise on that time in a woman's life when she really starts to think that all men ARE the same, and that it's all a pretty hopeless affair. This is, at least, what we are presented with both in Moreau's character, and Mastroianni's behavior.
Sunk in a mire of numb boredom and a moody self reflection that Moreau often specialized in, this film only comes alive when Vitti is on screen. She is luminous and really fascinating, even though her character is also disenchanted and bored.
This world of idle rich is often portrayed in films of this period, infantile sensation seeking out of a deep lack of individual creativity. All of these films suffer from a real difficulty of making these people interesting, identifiable and certainly difficult to make them likable.
The window we are given into Moreau's somnambulance is through Bernhard Wicki, and the "secret" of their relationship which is hinted at and finally unveiled in her last speeches.
This is a film about the disillusionment of maturity. For a fairly short film, it makes for viewing that feels long. Peggy Lee sang it all in much less time with, "Is that all there is."
At best, this is somewhat a treatise on that time in a woman's life when she really starts to think that all men ARE the same, and that it's all a pretty hopeless affair. This is, at least, what we are presented with both in Moreau's character, and Mastroianni's behavior.
Sunk in a mire of numb boredom and a moody self reflection that Moreau often specialized in, this film only comes alive when Vitti is on screen. She is luminous and really fascinating, even though her character is also disenchanted and bored.
This world of idle rich is often portrayed in films of this period, infantile sensation seeking out of a deep lack of individual creativity. All of these films suffer from a real difficulty of making these people interesting, identifiable and certainly difficult to make them likable.
The window we are given into Moreau's somnambulance is through Bernhard Wicki, and the "secret" of their relationship which is hinted at and finally unveiled in her last speeches.
This is a film about the disillusionment of maturity. For a fairly short film, it makes for viewing that feels long. Peggy Lee sang it all in much less time with, "Is that all there is."