La Notte

A talented but callow novelist (Marcello Mastroianni) enjoys the acclaim afforded by his just-published novel, while his marriage to a well-to-do woman (Jeanne Moreau) deteriorates. As she grieves for a dying friend, he is both bemused by and attracted to the advances of other women, particularly the ravishing daughter (Monica Vitti) of a potential new benefactor. An empty evening of visiting decrepit neighborhoods, exotic nightclubs, and a swanky party leads to a final confrontation, which reveals the somber truth that love does not always conquer all. Released in 1962, the second film in Antonioni’s famous trilogy (L’Avventura, L’Eclisse), La Notte captures the glamour and amorality of Italy’s postwar nuovi ricchi, now even more sumptuous in a new restoration from a 4K scan of a 35mm fine-grain.