Le Amiche (1955)

Le Amiche is an earlier Antonioni film, before his informal trilogy containing L'Avventura, La Notte and L'Eclisse. In some ways, it's kind of rough, as Antonioni was working from somebody else's story and probably didn't have as much creative control as he would later in his years. Despite feeling very different from his other films, you can still see him forming his style here.

The film deals with malaise and alienation, but it's certainly nowhere near as prevalent as it is in his later works. All of the characters seem to be searching for something in the world, drifting, hoping to find whatever it is that will complete them. Antonioni always seems to identify most with the female characters in his film, and Le Amiche is no exception. Most of the main cast if female, and a sense of togetherness develops between them. It almost becomes, dare I say, chick-flick-y?

I was really drawn into the film, though. The characters are all well-defined, and Antonioni gives them all, along with the plot, plenty of breathing room. In some spots, it has a 'constructed' feel, as the film dips into melodrama territory. I can only assume that these were imposed by the studio or original story, but I could be wrong.

Overall, nowhere near Antonioni's best, but definitely a very good film and a clear sign of good things to come.