Story of a Love Affair | |
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DVD cover
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Directed by | Michelangelo Antonioni |
Produced by | Franco Villani |
Screenplay by |
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Story by | Michelangelo Antonioni |
Starring | |
Music by | Giovanni Fusco |
Cinematography | Enzo Serafin |
Edited by | Eraldo Da Roma |
Production
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Villani Film
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Distributed by | Fincine |
Release date
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Running time
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98 minutes |
Country | Italy |
Language | Italian |
Story of a Love Affair (Italian: Cronaca di un amore) is a 1950 Italian drama film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni and starring Massimo Girotti and Lucia Bosè. Despite some neorealist background, the film was not fully compliant with the contemporary Italian neorealist style both in its story and image, featuring upper-class characters portrayed by professional actors. Ferdinando Sarmi was, however, a fashion designer rather than a professional actor. Its story was inspired by the James M. Cain's novel The Postman always rings Twice. In the film, the camera pans the same street corner in Ferrara, the director's native city, that appears in his film Par-delà les nuages forty-five years later. In 1951 the film won the Nastro d'Argento Silver Ribbon Award for Best Original Score (Giovanni Fusco) and the Special Silver Ribbon (Michelangelo Antonioni) for human and stylistic values.Story of a Love Affair was Antonioni's first full length feature film.
At a detective agency in Milan, Carloni (Gino Rossi) is looking through photographs of an attractive young woman, Paola Molon Fontana (Lucia Bosè), given to the agency by her wealthy industrialist husband, Enrico Fontana (Ferdinando Sarmi). The couple were married seven years ago, shortly after meeting each other. Fontana's recent discovery of these old photos have aroused his suspicion, and Carloni is hired to uncover whatever he can about Paola's life before her marriage. Carloni travels to the town of Ferrara, where Paola spent much of her youth. The detective soon discovers that she was best friends with two girls in town. He goes to the apartment of one of her friends, Matilde (Vittoria Mondello), and learns from her husband that Paola and Matilde's friend Giovanna Carlini died in a tragic elevator shaft fall a few days before she was to be married to Guido Garroni, a local boy with whom Paola had also been involved. When the sullen Matilde arrives home, she refuses to cooperate with Carloni. After the detective leaves, Matilde writes a letter to Guido, alerting him that a suspicious man is investigating Paola's past.