Antonioni shows a brilliant eye for colour in this film, with effective use of tinting and lighting special effects to attach mood and emotion to certain sequences. There is some good camera-work too, with dolly shots, closeup and zooms all distributed effectively, plus the dissolve editing also is interesting. The interior design and costumes are very striking, but the film is more than just technically impressive. It has ideas about motivation, killing and fate, and it is almost always intriguing, even if the story is rather threadbare and very unrealistic. Some of the shots appear to add little to the film, and some bits of dialogue also appear useless. But even if the film is imperfect, there is still quite a bit to take out of it, and it is almost worth watching just to see what Antonioni can do with colour.
Review of The Mystery of Oberwald
